Skeletons in the Closet
by Lazuli
Summary: Living in the Fire Country prepares Sasuke for all sorts of weird things. But until he moved in the old Uchiha estate, he didn't realise that ghosts could be part of the strange happenings, too.
1. Default Chapter

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter One

By: Lazuli

PG-13

Author's Notes: This is my first Naruto fanfic, even though I've been writing fanfiction for other series for years now. I hope you like this, and any reviews are welcome. Thank you!

Standard disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

Sasuke was starting to realize some god up there hated him. He didn't want to be here, but at the moment, he didn't really have a choice. He needed a place to live—his family practically kicked him out once he turned twenty and became an adult. Not that they phrased it that way—but he could see the struggle it put on the family. They never were overly close or affectionate, and he knew this would be the best thing. Once he had a good job, and a solid lifestyle—then he could send money back home. For now…the only place to start was at the bottom, and work his way up. Thus--

"And this apartment complex currently has a few spaces open…" Sasuke blinked and focused on the woman behind the counter, who was currently staring at him more than her computer screen. "It's in a nice, safe area—close to…" Her voice trailed off, becoming puzzled. "That's strange… I thought there was another town near here…" She shrugged as she typed a few more things into her computer, then she turned to give him a broad smile. "Well, it won't be like you're completely isolated, but it's not in the middle of the big city, either." Her smile widened. "And it looks like they need a caretaker—your rent would be dropped to almost half if you stayed in the main building and looked after the place." There was something fishy about the whole thing, but he was tired and cranky and didn't have a lot of options offered. It wasn't as if the Fire Country boasted many universities, and even fewer places with cheap housing.

Sasuke had been stuck in the office all day, he would take a shack by the roadway at this point. "Fine." He murmured, maintaining his calm façade by the thinnest of margins. "I'll take it." He didn't exactly know what 'caretaker' involved, but since he never listed any handyman skills, he figured that it was mainly watching over the place and checking to make sure it wasn't falling apart on the people that lived there. Plus, it _would_ save him money.

The real estate agent smiled and printed off a stack off papers, watching Sasuke the entire time he went through the contracts and finally signed them. At least he would have his own place for the first time in his life. No one but him.

* * *

"I'm going to kill that lady." He muttered, eyes narrowed as he surveyed the 'apartment complex.' It was in obvious need of repair, the only 'good' apartment was the one that he was living in, and his was the only one with someone living in it. The entire place was deserted, and he was miles from the nearest town. "If I hadn't already made an agreement…" 

But it was too late to back out now, since all of his stuff had already been moved in. And…he was free. The fact that he was the only one there didn't bother him, really—he liked being alone. He didn't like the inconvenience of being so far away from town. With a sigh, he unlocked his door and got ready to arrange his stuff from where the movers left it. He was already in the door and halfway to his room before he realized that he wasn't alone.

Startled blue eyes met his, and Sasuke got a bare glimpse of blond hair before the figure vanished—quite literally. He stared at the empty space where the person had been a second ago, and rubbed his eyes. He was seeing things. This place was ancient and now his imagination was imagining ghosts. Blond-haired, blue-eyed ghosts no less. He gave a mental groan as he plugged in his radio, flipping on the music so the total silence didn't get to him and make him start hallucinating. _Somehow I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time in town._

He had just finished putting the last box away when he saw the blond figure again, and was starting to get annoyed. He knew there had to be some type of kids around—playing stupid tricks or games in the abandoned apartment complex, but he never knew that kids could vanish without warning. This time the person stayed, the colors sharpening until he could actually see the person.

It was a guy his age—spiky blond hair restrained by a bandanna thing and dressed in some type of uniform. Blue eyes focused on him, and it took Sasuke a moment to register the scars lining the strange boy's cheeks. It took him another moment to realize that the boy was transparent, that the early morning sunlight that streamed through the windows went through him just as easily. And he was floating. He knew living here was a mistake.

A rude voice snapped him out of his musings of just moving back home, so he didn't have to deal with the weirdness involved in this place. "What're you doing here?" The boy demanded, eyes narrowed at Sasuke. "You're not supposed to be here."

"I live here." Sasuke snapped back, automatically on the defensive. "This is my apartment. You can have one of the other ones." He smirked. "If you can find one that's livable. I think this is the only one with running water and electricity."

The figure rolled his eyes. "Not like I really give a shit about that stuff, but I'm not going to leave this apartment." His eyebrow rose as he smirked at Sasuke. "Going to try and make me?" He taunted.

Sasuke glared right back at him. "I paid for this place, it's the only one that I can live in, and no damn weirdo with a tendency to scar up his face is going to push me out of _my_ place." He reached for his phone. "I can call the cops and have you arrested for trespassing." He threatened. He wasn't sure if it would do any good—maybe the kid was good at illusions like he saw some of the shinobi near his old town do—but it didn't hurt to try.

The strange guy started laughing, shaking his head at the same time. "You blind or something?" He grinned widely at the annoyed Sasuke. "I'm dead, you moron." There was a certain sort of glee attached to that word, as if the stranger got a kick out of being able to call someone that.

_He probably got called a moron his entire life…_He paused to look at him. _And deserved it, too. Although… _"Ghosts don't exist." He said stiffly. "You're just some kid or something that knows shinobi tricks." He rolled his eyes. "Anyone could do them."

"Not anyone could do them, idiot. You have to be taught them, and while I _am_ a shinobi, it doesn't change the fact that I'm a dead one." He seemed remarkable cheerful about the fact, and the whiskers combined with his wide grin made him look like a fox. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto—and you must be Sasuke."

Sasuke felt his eyes widen in shock before he put on his usual impassive face. "Spying on the movers as they came in?" He asked coolly. "For a ghost, you're pretty rude." Hs tone said that he didn't believe that "Naruto" was a ghost at all.

Naruto snorted and pointed to one of the boxes still laying around. "They had your name all over it, dumbass." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look—I'm not budging from my nice afterlife spot, and you're going to stay here—so as long as you stay out of my way, we'll get along fine." With those words, he started to fade away. "And don't go snooping around."

Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes. He was going to have a long talk with the real estate agent about the place he got stuck living in.

* * *

"What do you _mean_, this place was never supposed to be up for rent?" He demanded. "I bought the place? How the hell do you accidentally sell a crumbling apartment complex to somebody?" 

"We're sorry, sir—but the contract is quite clear. You are now the sole owner of the Uchiha estate." The man had a high, whiny voice that grated on Sasuke's ears and made him want to scream.

He never expected to _own_ the crumbling buildings, the floors of some of them so rotted through that he didn't even want to venture in them. The whole place was creepy, and even though the only ghost he saw was Naruto, there was something that hung in the air here that made him shiver.

"Fine." He snarled, finally losing his temper. "I'll figure something out and get all of this mess reversed." He slammed the phone down and turned around, no longer surprised to see Naruto hovering around. "And what do you want?" He snapped.

Naruto just grinned. "It isn't every day that I can see you lose it like that." He chuckled. "It's almost unreal to see all that emotion on your face." He mock shuddered. "I'd be scared if I wasn't already dead."

Sasuke just snarled at him. "You're not helping." He bit out. "How the hell did I become the owner of this place?" He gestured to the wide expanse of grounds, eyes narrowed. "It's a disaster waiting to happen—they should have torn it down a long time ago." He looked huffy. "It would take a fortune to repair this mess."

Naruto gave him an impassive look, no emotion on the usually-easy-to-read face. "You don't have the right to make those choices." He said softly. "Even if you're the owner, you should respect the past. This place is pretty old." His gaze was far away for a moment. "But I'm sure that someone would be willing to help fix it up again."

"Like you, Naruto?" He questioned, voice disbelieving. "It's not like you can do much, since you're pretty insubstantial." He smirked and waved a hand through Naruto's middle, somehow amused by the fact that he could do it. He smirked at him and 'tried' to lift a hand, which only went through his.

"And you're really stupid." Naruto rolled his eyes and ignored the rude way Sasuke was acting, eyes closing for a moment. The book near them lifted easily and drifted over to them. As easily as if he held it in his hands, the pages turned—all without Naruto or Sasuke physically touching it. "I've known how to manipulate energy my entire life. It's just a bit different once I became a ghost."

Sasuke's eyes widened at that, a little bit of appreciation creeping into them. It seemed that there was a lot that he didn't know about Naruto—of his past or what he could do—as a ghost or when he was alive. The only thing he could figure out was that before he died, he was some type of higher ranking shinobi. He never saw many of them where he lived because there simply wasn't the need for them, but he was wearing the type of clothing he had seen a teacher shinobi wear one time. The next time Naruto was 'out', doing whatever he did—he would do some snooping.

"So maybe you are good for something besides being a window." He smirked. "I still don't care about this dump, and as long as my current apartment keeps standing, the rest can rot." His fist clenched for a moment, eyes dark. "Some things in the past are meant to fall apart."

Naruto gave a sharp laugh, no humor in it. "Maybe you're right about that." His gaze met Sasuke's, and he could almost forget that Naruto wasn't alive sometimes—there was so much emotion, so much vibrancy in the way he moved and spoke sometimes. "But this particular piece of the past is something that I'll guard for a long time."

* * *

It was on one of his few trips to town that he noticed the number of shinobi increasing, sometimes around him and sometimes just…around. He had lived in a fairly calm part of the city growing up—and while this didn't seem to be too exciting either, there was an undercurrent of activity that was almost constant. It was starting to unnerve him, and while the company at his apartment wasn't the best in the world, it was better than the unsettling stares he got from people in the main part of town. He felt that he was being watched, even when nobody was around and he was almost willing to break down and ask Naruto for answers. 

Almost. He wasn't quite that desperate to ask the annoying, loud-mouthed ghost anything that would increase the superior looks Naruto gave him. So what if he didn't know about how to fix up a place? There was a constant, edgy battle between the two of them, Naruto messing up his stuff whenever he could and Sasuke not being able to do much of anything. He hadn't figured out how to thwart the ghost yet, and the fact that Naruto was a shinobi made it worse. Even if he couldn't 'fight' the way he was able to when he was alive, he obviously retained many of the skills that involved energy. Sasuke nearly had a heart attack that one time he saw about ten Naruto's hovering around him, all of them mocking him.

He wondered if had anything to do with where he lived. He stayed mostly silent at school and didn't interact with many people—so he wasn't sure how it came out where he lived. He did hear remarks about how 'creepy' it was that he lived in a haunted place. He only smirked to himself at their murmurings. If they only knew that Naruto was far from frightening. A pain in the ass to be certain, but certainly not scary in the least.

"You're Sensu Sasuke?" A voice near him asked, and he looked up in surprise to see the girl standing next to him. He thought he was all alone in the library, and wasn't expecting anyone to be suddenly there. Not that he had any particular claim to the library, it was just startling to be suddenly interrupted. He gave a nod in answer to her question, and gestured for the girl to sit down. Even when his only company at home was a ghost, he hadn't lost his manners entirely.

She gave him a broad smile. "I'm Nawa Kuri. Everyone's been eager to talk to you, since you live in that old shinobi estate, so they sent me to tackle you." She explained with a grin. "No one ever wanted to be there because of it.." She made a face, completely oblivious to the look Sasuke was giving her. "It's haunted, you know."

Trying to nurse the sudden headache, he gave a slight smirk. "Oh, don't listen to any of that nonsense." He could shoot down Naruto when the ghost wasn't around to counteract anything. "It's just a bunch of hot air—"

The girl's eyes widened at that, and her braids flipped from side to side as she shook her head. "Oh, no—I know it's haunted. I've been there before, you know." Her smile was a touch proud. "My family used to be part of Konoha—but they left early on and didn't come back—they felt that raising their children outside of the village would have been better." She fiddled with the edge of a tasseled bookmark.

Eyebrows raising, he observed Kuri more closely. She looked perfectly normal, if a little childish with the braids, but she claimed to have been to his apartment. And seen ghosts there. "What kind of ghost did you see?" He questioned.

Her eyes flicked away for a moment. "Just Naruto. He's been there for a long time—he was there before the Uchiha estate came visible to those outside of Konoha." Her eyes dropped down to her lap again as she continued to fiddle with the bookmark. Her gaze met his, a little curious. "Don't you see Naruto sometimes? He told me he stuck around so he could watch the place."

Sasuke pondered answering her—it could be just a trick, but she knew Naruto… well, knew of him, at the very least. He finally conceded with a nod. "Yeah, he pops in every once in a while." He shrugged. He didn't mention that he was around _all the time_, and starting to driving Sasuke nuts.

"Well, he doesn't like hanging around people much, so don't expect to see him a lot." She got up, a smile on her face as she extended her hand. "We'll have to talk more, Sensu-san. I have to run to a class, but it's nice to know that you saw Naruto and you don't seem overly disturbed by it. Some people can't get used to living so close to Konoha and not see it"

He stared at the spot she sat, long after she was gone, wondering just what she was talking about. He decided that today he would take his chance to investigate his home more carefully. There were a few rooms that he hadn't got to yet, and with this sudden increase of information, he was that much more eager to find out.

* * *

He found the storage room almost by accident, and he was glad that Naruto wasn't around to mock him or trail him. He felt vaguely guilty about going through items that didn't belong to him, but he figured that no one else was around to claim it anymore—so whatever was left, was his to examine. 

There were boxes full of dusty scroll and clothing, a few locked cabinets, and one huge trunk. That caught his eye the most, as it easily took up half of the room, and the locks broken. _I can get into this one… and there is bound to be something interesting in something that big._

The trunk held an odd collection of shinobi weapons, most of a type he never saw before. There was a large, four-sided weapon that was a larger version of 'ninja stars' that didn't look easy to wield, and a set of sharp, ebony knives that had a small loop at the end of their handles. Sasuke picked several of the smaller knives up, resting them in his hand for a moment, then slipping them between his fingers. He made a fist and it was eerie at how easily they fit there, with the way it looked and felt. He dropped the small knives into the trunk, the clatter somewhat dulled by the fabric lining the compartment.

His hands reached for some type of head accessory next, the durable fabric hardly faded, a metal plate sewn or fixed somehow to the front of it. There was a spiral symbol on the front, in the vague shape of a leaf. It was similar to something he spotted Naruto wearing once or twice, and while Naruto's had a few nicks and looked beat up, this one had a deep scratch across the spiral symbol, as if someone was trying to erase the meaning. He rested that in his lap, then examined the other items nestled in the many compartments of the trunk. He was so caught up in the weaponry that he almost missed the small stack of pictures at the bottom of the trunk.

He was just reaching for a small, cracked frame at the bottom when the trunk slammed closed. Sasuke barely moved his hands out of the way before they got caught. Looking up, he came face to face with an angry Naruto, blue eyes narrowed and fists clenched.

"Didn't anyone teach you to respect other people's stuff?" He growled. His hands moved rapidly, Sasuke not catching what he was doing or the meaning of it. Something glowed around the edge of the trunk for a moment, but Sasuke resisted the urge to see just what happened.

"Considering you're dead and this is my apartment, I don't see where it really matters." He crossed his arms over his chest, fighting to keep his superior look on his face. He was beginning to realize that all the teasing that Naruto did before was just that…teasing. It was nothing compared to the anger he felt emanating from the ghost now. If the visible crackle of energy around Naruto was any indication, it would seem the wise decision would be for Sasuke to give up the fight and retreat for the moment.

He never had been very good at giving up, though. It _was_ his apartment now, damnit—and while he felt slightly guilty at going through Naruto's things (there was something to be said for respecting the dead, after all) he wasn't going to budge on this one. "Look, you're already dead, everyone in your past is dead, and you can't use the weapons anymore—what harm could it do for me to see them?" His voice was calm, reasonable.

Naruto looked surprised at that, his anger fading slightly, but not all the way.. The violent energy dissipated, but the whisker marks across his cheeks seemed to stand out, even in his ghostly form. "Yeah, so they are." He muttered. "It doesn't mean that you have any right to go poking around and making fun of even more things you don't understand." He snorted and gestured to the trunk. "You probably wouldn't know what to do with a single weapon in there, and you're what… eighteen? Nineteen? I was twelve when I became a gennin." His voice was thick with contempt.

Simply giving him a look of disgust, Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't really care about the weapons." He was lying and was sure that Naruto could see it, but the weapons really did take second place to snooping out Naruto's past. There was something there that he didn't want him to find, and Sasuke was determined to get at the bottom of it. It was quickly becoming a personal goal. "I wanted to see the pictures. Maybe find out what you looked like when you weren't see through." He smirked. "Although I'm sure people can appreciate the sunlight going through you, instead of blocking it."

Naruto growled and stuck his nose up in the air. "Well, your life sucks, doesn't it?" He sneered. "You're not going to get a chance to see them—you don't need to, cause it isn't any of your business who my friends were in the past." There was the faintest hint of pain behind the anger as he said the word 'friends', and Sasuke wondered just what drove Naruto to be a ghost. _The sooner I can find out, the sooner I can get rid of him and finally be ghost-free. _

Rolling his eyes and letting the anger completely drain away, Naruto simply shook his head. "I don't know why you're suddenly so fascinated with me." His eyes gleamed slightly. "You didn't even admit I existed before—so why is the curiosity striking now?" His glance was shrewd, a knowing look—something calculating and a hint of someone that knew how to use those weapons laying in the trunk.

Sasuke gave an uncomfortable shrug, not liking the way Naruto suddenly focused in on him. "Maybe it'll confirm to me that you were a real person once." Naruto seemed to be ever-clearer, even in the dim lighting of the storage room. "Isn't that important?" He pressed. "To be known that you existed, that the people around you know that you're a real person?" He was voicing his own wants and desires—no one had ever really acknowledged him---just his accomplishments. He decided to put one item forth—the only thing he managed to get out of the trunk. Holding up the headband, he watched Naruto carefully.

Naruto sucked in a completely unnecessary breath, eyes going wide with shock, before a brief sign of amusement showed on his face. "Figures you'd find that." He muttered, half to himself. "Okay, snoop—I guess I can tell you something."

Sasuke tried to hold back his smug look of victory, but it was difficult. Naruto simply snorted and sat cross legged in the air, looking completely relaxed. "That is what we called a _hitai-ate_." He stated simply, pulling off the one he wore and showing Sasuke the similar design. It wasn't like Sasuke could hold it, it being as immaterial as Naruto, but he could see the similarity. "That one belonged to my friend."

Sasuke raised an interested eyebrow. "Why doesn't his family have it or something?" He questioned. "And is there any pictures of this friend?" He wanted to get into that trunk again, but he figured that he would wait until Naruto left. It wouldn't hurt to find out all that he could with the boy's help, though…

Naruto's eyes flashed with that cold anger again, and Sasuke regretted his question almost immediately. Apparently it was the wrong avenue to stroll down. "He didn't have any family." He said bluntly. "They were all murdered by his brother when he was about eight years old." His eyes flicked over to Sasuke, and he smirked faintly. "Why do you think this place is empty, and an attempt made to turn it into student housing? No one else wanted to live here. They thought it was haunted. You're the first one who's stayed in any of the apartments."

Sasuke felt the blood drain out of his face, and he a moment of double-vision, the image of Naruto blurring and replaced with a taller figure with red eyes. "It is haunted, stupid." He managed to get out, trying to cover up how shaken he was with a snappish remark. "You're the one haunting the place, after all."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Moron. I meant before I died and came to wander around the estate." He shook his head. "This used to be where his family lived—where I came to live after I dragged his ass back home." He noticed the faint question in Sasuke's eyes and shrugged. "I was to be his… guard…for lack of a better word. He did many things against the village, he betrayed me—and he eventually died from the force of the curse that ate away his body."

Now Sasuke snorted, more relaxed now that the initial shock of the mass murder had faded somewhat. "Curses don't exist." He said dismissively. "That's all make believe stuff." He eyed Naruto. While he believe in the ninja-stuff that was obviously part of Naruto's past (after living in Konoha for a few months, he gathered it was a way of life), there were certain limits to his credibility.

Naruto laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Just like demons don't exist?" He mocked. "Like ghosts don't exist?" He continued to snicker. "Boy, are you ever dumb. You've lived here for… a few months now?" He raised an eyebrow, the smirk ever-present on his face. "Don't you realize that some of what you see…isn't all of what you see? You may not live in Konoha proper, but you're close enough where some things are glaringly obvious." He gestured to the general set of apartments around them. "The Uchiha estate was sealed off from the rest of Konoha after it's last member died. I took care of it after that."

There was no emotion in Naruto's voice, no inflection at all to indicate how he felt about the matter, to show that he cared his friend had died—or what happened to his friend previously. But whether Naruto realized it or not, he gave up some valuable information—names. Now even if he didn't see the pictures right away, he would still get some answers. And Naruto didn't have to know.

"There isn't much information about the Uchiha clan anymore." Naruto tied his hitai-ate around his forehead again, somehow propelling Sasuke down the hallway and away from the storage room. The bright sunlight hit his eyes unexpectedly and made him wince. "Once an elite Konoha clan, they faded into obscurity. This place is all that really remains of the Uchiha family—and it's not even a part of Konoha anymore." He suddenly paused and looked towards the window, eyes widening slightly. "I wondered what took them so long to get here." He turned to Sasuke and smirked. "It looks like you have company."

Standing by the window, their profile clear, was one of the Konoha shinobi


	2. Images of the Past

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Two

Sasuke was confused as to why the female was at his apartment and why Naruto seemed to be expecting the visit. Not that the ghost was visible at the moment—Sasuke could somewhat tell he was there, after living so long with the spirit, but he didn't know where he was or why exactly he was hiding. Considering he was snickering right before he vanished, he was going to observe the confrontation with great amusement.

He let her in, though—not showing any of his reaction to the woman. She was dressed much as Naruto did, which led him to believe she was at least a higher ranking ninja, but she seemed too young for the position.. She didn't waste any words as she sized him up. "Your presence is requested by our village leader." She said shortly, eyes focused in on him.

His eyebrows simply rose at the demand. "Why should I go?" He questioned smoothly. "I don't live in the village, I shouldn't have to answer to anyone there." Part of his brain was telling him it was stupid to argue with someone who could easily disable or kill him—and he had been raised to respect the shinobi, but he also wasn't used to be ordered around.

Her eyes flashed at him, but she relaxed her angry stance slightly, obviously trying to rein in her temper. "I understand this, but you mist also understand where you live. It used to be a part of Konoha, and we have been remiss in seeking you out earlier. If it wasn't for a missive…" Her voice trailed off for a moment. "We wouldn't have known you were here at all." She was about to say more, when her eyes shifted elsewhere and focused on an empty spot in the room. "Show yourself!"

Naruto faded into view, grinning cheekily at her. "Aw, and I thought I was hiding myself better than that." He pouted. "I guess it's harder when you're nothing but energy." He seemed to enjoy the look of shock on her face and he shared a smirk with Sasuke, who had known where he had been the entire time.

"You're… you're…" She stammered, losing her composure for the first time since arriving at the Uchiha estate. "That was supposed to be nothing but a legend!" She protested. "Something to tell us at the academy!" Glaring at Naruto, she demanded an explanation. "Just what are you doing here?" It looked like her worldview had been shaken, and she was determined to get it righted.

Naruto shrugged, the grin fading from his face. "I have my reason—probably similar to what you learned at the academy." He raised an eyebrow at her for the way she was treating him. "It's not for you to question or even demand explanations for. That's up to the Hokage." There almost seemed to be an emphasis placed on that title, and she blanched slightly.

"Yes… of course…" She murmured, bowing slightly to Naruto. "It was you that wrote that missive…wasn't it?" She asked, her voice hesitant—unsure if she should ask anymore questions. Sasuke was more intrigued than ever at the obvious deference. There was obviously more to Naruto than he let on. He hoped he'd either be able to pry information out of his unwanted escort, or the Hokage when he got to the village.

His eyebrows rose and he looked surprised at that. "No, I didn't actually—but someone must've been keeping an eye on him." They were obviously referring to Sasuke, who was getting annoyed at being talked about over his head. He grinned again. "I just didn't kick him out on his ass, so I guess they saw it as a positive sign that I didn't mind him being here."

Sasuke snorted and both Naruto and the girl turned to look at him. "As if you could ever keep me out of here, Naruto. You may be able to manipulate things, but I managed to stay here all this time, haven't I?" His voice was coolly arrogant as he dared Naruto to refute that statement. He wasn't expecting the amused and almost pitying look tossed his way from the female.

"If he wanted you gone, you would have been gone a long time ago." She smirked at him. "Trust me on this one. Being dead obviously hasn't hindered him too much." The look aimed toward Naruto was dry. "Although I really didn't expect to see him here." Business-like again, she turned back to Sasuke. "Come on, we won't keep you all day, but if Naruto approves of you, it's doubly okay to take you to Konoha." Looking back at Naruto, she raised an eyebrow. "Am I correct?"

Naruto gave her an absent nod. "He's not a threat, if that's what you mean." Only Sasuke caught the flash of pain that was quickly masked behind a teasing look. "And it's not like he'll go blabbing to where Konoha is. Most of the people know where it is—but they can't get to it." He smirked. "In fact—I'll should release the jutsu enough so that you can go back."

Her eyes widened at the implication she could be stuck here, and she held Sasuke's arm lightly, eyes warning him to just cooperate for the moment. Part of it was trying to look responsible and in control of the situation, even though she was at least four years younger than Sasuke. He gave in with a sigh and let himself be led out to the edge of the Uchiha estate. With a quick set of movements, the seal around the Uchiha estate was momentarily lifted and Sasuke got his first glimpse of Konoha.

He couldn't keep the surprise off his face entirely and the number of looks he was getting from people was annoying. It was worse than the town he went to school in, and the fact that a kunoichi was escorting him made it worse. He could feel eyes on him the entire way to the large tower. He took in the scenery around him, gaze everywhere. The most dominating feature was the mountain with the faces carved into it. He gave it a fleeting glance, promising himself that he would examine it more closely later. For now—he had to meet with the Hokage of Konoha.

His escort left him the care of two other shinobi, both of them masked. He shivered at not being able to see the expressions on their faces, and was glad when he was shown to a large room at the top of the tower. There was a middle-aged shinobi behind a desk and he beckoned Sasuke forward. He couldn't help but look around the room, his eyes caught by the pictures lining the wall. Especially when one of the pictures was of Naruto, looking more serious than Sasuke thought he could be.

"Sit down, Sasuke." He was startled by the voice and took the offered chair. "You are probably wondering why we called you here—it is not a normal thing to invite outsiders to Konoha. We're a hidden village for a reason." His smile was kind. "But you're a special case, considering where you live."

Sasuke gave a cautious nod. Just as he was brought up to be respectful to the shinobi, he was doubly respectful of the strongest of them—one of the kage. "I know that where I live used to belong to Konoha." He said carefully. "But…it isn't any longer." His tone was questioning. He wanted answers…

The Hokage nodded and looked thoughtful. "It's true—around a hundred or so years ago, almost every last member of the Uchiha clan was… killed." He said softly. "All but one member survived, and there were no more heirs after that. The Uchiha estate became seen as bad luck and the Rokudaime had no choice but to seal it off from Konoha."

"The Rokudaime?" He blinked in shock as some of the pieces fell into place and he glanced up at the pictures again. "Naruto was one of the Hokage?" He couldn't believe it—the ghost seemed to be too much of and idiot at times, and the serious moments were far and few in between. He couldn't imagine some shinobi that got stuck as a ghost could have once been the leader of the Fire Country shinobi.

The Hokage smiled faintly. "You've met Naruto, then. Only a few people actually _know _that he's still there. Most of the kids think it's a legend we attached to him to make him seem more important." He gazed was sad. "He sacrificed himself to save the village from the Kyuubi, much like the Yondaime did years before that, but he was still dedicated to his task of watching over Konoha, electing to watch it from a distance—taking care of the Uchiha estate at the same time. You are truly the first one he's let stay there."

"But…why?" Sasuke was puzzled and he leaned forward slightly. "Why does he keep me around, why is he always bugging me? From what I've heard—even from you now—he chases off people or ignores them entirely. That he's scary and evil and most people stay away from the Uchiha estate so they won't have to cross his path." His expression displayed his frustration. "Do you have an answer?"

"I may." The voice of the elder shinobi was calm, not reacting to Sasuke's outburst. "Do you know the name of the last Uchiha?" He asked. "It may be why---no one else remembers, but as the Hokage, we have access to other information that most of the shinobi simply don't. There are no pictures of him…" Here he paused and looked at Sasuke. "Except for the ones that the Rokudaime Naruto has, but I do have his name." His smile was almost as teasing as Naruto's could be. "Would you like to know?"

* * *

Sasuke was left with a lot to think about as he walked out of the Hokage's office. The man had promised that he could visit when he wanted—provided that Naruto 'let him in' and let him see Konoha. Even though Naruto had long been dead and didn't have any sort of real power anymore, it seemed that he was still looked upon with respect. Whether it was for his sacrifice to save his village, or simply the things he did throughout the years he served as Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto was a name to be treated with respect. Somehow that made him happy.

He stropped to look at the Hokage monument, and picked out Naruto's face easily. His was the only one with the whisker marks on his face, and he realized that he never figured out why he had those. It was more of the mystery that Naruto presented. He vowed to get to know Konoha better, and maybe he'd get answers to his questions. Now that he had something to work with, it would be easier.

"It's different from what you expected, isn't it?" Sasuke nearly jumped out of his skin at the reappearance of the kunoichi who brought him here, and he slowed his pounding heart, hoping his surprised didn't show on his face. "Not many people see this place, except those that grow up here." Her smile was warm as she turned to him. "I'm Inara, and most of already know you're Sasuke."

He groaned. "Does my name get around _that_ easily?" He questioned. "It was all over my university, too—because of where I live." He shook his head. "If I had known that it was going to be that big of a deal, I never would have signed the contract." He started walking faster, not surprised when she easily kept up with him.

"But then Naruto-sama would be alone." Came her unexpected reply. "He's been alone for a really long time—if all the stories are true…." Her voice trailed off. "We learned a little bit about him in the academy, but no one ever thought that he stuck around. It must have been really lonely for him to be at his friends place this entire time."

"Well, it's not like he welcomed visitors." Sasuke pointed out. "He scared everyone away. It sounds like its his own fault that he didn't have any visitors." His look challenged her to refute that.

She flushed, shrugging a little. "He…well, Naruto-sama was always seen as strange, according to some of the history on him. Maybe he only liked certain people. I think… " Her voice was softer now and she stared at the ground. "I don't believe it, but…maybe he didn't have a lot of friends."

Considering how idiotic the blond acted sometimes, he didn't doubt it, but chose not to voice that particular opinion. Naruto was obviously an important figure in Inara's history and he didn't want to crush her view on him. "Maybe." He was all he said. "I guess if you're alone for so long, it's hard to be around people again. Especially when they don't understand."

Her eyes flicked over to his face, but it was impassive and didn't give anything away. She smiled instead, dragging on his arm and acting like the young girl she must still be. "Do you want to see around Konoha some?" She asked eagerly. "I can show you to the academy…" Her eyes pleaded with him, and it was clear that she was terribly proud of where she lived and had gone to school. She confirmed it with her next words. "I graduated early… but you know—it's still pretty special to me."

She couldn't be more than fourteen or fifteen, and already she was doing stuff that he only saw adults doing. He suddenly saw the shinobi world as a very sad one, the children growing up much too quickly and without a real childhood. He never really thought much about it before—they were just always there. He rarely saw the same once twice, but he never thought about _why._ Their life was a dangerous one. He looked back up at the Hokage monument again, eyes flicking over the faces carved there once more. _And sometimes in means sacrificing everything you have to protect what you love._

The image was strongly reinforced when Inara took him to the ninja academy, and he watched from a safe distance as kids not even ten years old practiced with the same type of weapons he had seen in Naruto's trunk. It saddened him for some reason, but at the same time it was clear the camaraderie that was shared among the kids. It was a family they were all a part of.

* * *

After watching the weapons practice for a few more minutes, she dragged him inside, whispering something to the teacher at the front of the room as she gestured to Sasuke. His eyes immediately met his, and Sasuke tried not to squirm under the blank-eyed gaze. It was a little creepy to see…well…nothing in the eyes. The teacher just gave a slight nod in his direction, indicating that Sasuke could sit down. He then continued on with the lesson.

Right now we are covering the Rokudaime. Who would like to share what they know of him?" His voice was smooth and cultured, hinting at some type of higher family standing in the village. Several children raised their hand, and he pointed to a girl sitting in the front row, her expression more eager than the rest of them.

"Uzumaki Naruto was the Rokudaime." Her voice was clear and completely serious as she recited the information they had learned earlier about their previous leaders. "He was the youngest to hold the title, and also held it for the shortest time." Her eyes unfocused for a moment as she tried to think of more. "He saved the village forever from the kyuubi by sacrificing himself with a jutsu he invented." She looked down, embarrassed slightly. "I'm sorry… I don't know what jutsu he used—just that it involved returning the kyuubi back to where it came from."

Their teacher smiled at her, unconcerned. "Nobody knows what the jutsu was, as it was only used once, and the Rokudaime never wrote it down." His gaze swept over the rest of the class. "He wasn't just known for one thing." He called out. "What else do we know about him?"

It was in this manner that Sasuke learned about the things that Naruto managed to accomplish in his short tenure as Hokage. He helped organize a type of system so that if children were orphaned when their parents died on missions, they would be looked after. The 'fate' of the Hyuuga clan was changed—little things, but what he started caused a ripple that made other people look at their families and neighbors and how it worked. It didn't' change the foundation of Konoha or how many things were taught and carried out, but the string that tied people together seemed to expand into more of a web, a network.

As Sasuke took it all in—he realized that nobody talked about his childhood, his time in the academy or the people he knew. Just what he did as their leader. It was as if he wasn't a person, but just a figure that was expected to do something. That his accomplishments were seen as important, and the person who had the heart and mind and provocation to do them was lost. The reasons behind it were lost with the person who did the tasks. He suddenly wanted to know more about Naruto himself—and made it a silent goal that these children would know about him as well—the real Uzumaki Naruto, not just the Rokudaime.

* * *

Sasuke thanked Inara as she dropped him off back home. It was weird how he could see the apartments… the Uchiha complex from Konoha, but once he was on the estate, he couldn't see Konoha. He suddenly wondered if Naruto missed it, and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Thanks to the Hokage and tidbits provided by Inara, he finally had some answers—and with the information he had, he would be able to tackle Naruto that much easier. His lips curved up into a smirk. Victory would be his.

His smirk faded as he saw Naruto perched up in the air, expression subdued as he watched Sasuke come in. There were something hovering in his hands, and Sasuke recognized the cracked frame he'd wanted to see earlier. "Did you have a nice time with the Hokage and visiting Konoha?" He questioned, not looking up at Sasuke. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, and didn't really focus on Sasuke. This was a change from the earlier teasing and smiling when Sasuke first left, and he wondered what was going through his mind.

"You didn't tell me you were the Rokudaime." Sasuke said instead, shutting the door quietly behind him. He was prepared to taunt Naruto, but seeing the frame and the way Naruto was acting put him off slightly. He didn't feel quite as superior.

"Would you have even believed me?" He asked dryly, meeting Sasuke's gaze with weary amusement. "Yes—I was acknowledged as the strongest shinobi—Tsunande-baa-chan passed her title on to me before she retired and I protected Konoha until the day I died." His look was sad. "I only wish I was able to do more."

"They talked about what you did accomplish while you were alive." Sasuke took a seat near the ghost, trying to have a normal conversation with him. "That you managed to get kids taken care of and everything. And…" His voice faltered slightly and turned apologetic.. "And sort of how you died."

Naruto's smile turned pleased at that, expression warming. "It's still going on, then?" He questioned. "The network I set up before… they still follow it?" He looked down at the frame again, and gave a truer smile than before. "I'm glad they kept it." His gaze slid sideways to Sasuke. "What else did you learn from the Hokage?"

"He told me the name of your friend." Sasuke, tried to keep the cheerful attitude, but it fell rather flat as the expression on Naruto's face changed.. "He said his name was Sasuke. Is that the reason you kept me around? Because I have the same name as your friend?"

"That may be part of the reason." He grinned faintly. "That and you're not so bad to have around. You're fun to tease." His gaze shifted away for a moment. "And maybe if I can take care of one Sasuke, the Sasuke from the past will forgive me for not being able to help him in time. Everyone has ghosts to contend with. Even the dead." With that, he left Sasuke to his thoughts, vanishing completely.

Naruto expected Sasuke to come after him, demanding explanations, but he didn't really have any to give. He knew who Sasuke was—and it was some great cosmic joke that they shared the same name. Souls transcend many things, but if the soul wished it, it could retain its features from before. _Figures Sasuke would want to hold onto his 'oh-so-perfect' looks._ He grimaced to himself. It had been a shock to see him—and after observing him for several weeks, he knew that Sensu Sasuke was Uchiha Sasuke.

He didn't have the refinement or cold attitude that the Sasuke he knew did—he didn't have shinobi skills or the charka to pull any off even if wanted to. He was more open, and from the various reports he was able to pick up—really friendly with other people. He was a completely different person and didn't deserve to be associated with anything from his past. Which was why Naruto didn't bring it up, didn't want him to see the pictures or hear the names associated with it. But that damn Hokage—butting his nose in when he didn't need to be, had no _right_ to. Shouldn't he have gotten the same respect for privacy that the other Hokage did?

At least he didn't learn of how he really died, at least not the details. Nobody alive had seen the jutsu performed, nobody knew what it involved and so it couldn't be repeated. Only he knew what really happened, and he didn't feel like sharing it at the moment. The kids would get the general 'he was a good Hokage and sacrificed himself for the village' mess that most got in school'

Most of the Hokage seemed to go in that way, and Naruto only followed the trend. He took after the Yondaime in the way that he sacrificed himself so that the Kyuubi wouldn't rampage. He was only thankful no one invented that particular jutsu earlier in his life. He wouldn't have made it past birth if anyone had figured it out. He created the forbidden jutsu after Sasuke had died, and took the knowledge of it with him to his death.

His charka always did go weird when it involved Sasuke… and he had felt the seal weakening for years, even after Jiraiya had tried to help him. He had a feeling the Yondaime really hadn't planned on it lasting forever—but what could a person do when faced with the type of pressure he had been? Naruto had a little more time to plan the technique.

He glanced down at the picture, the first one that had him with other people surrounding him. Not that he looked happy in it—his twelve-year-old self was scowling at Sasuke, irritated at the dark-eyed boy. He could even remember the mocking comment made at the time, and his lips twitched at the memory.

_"You're such an dobe. Why couldn't you have dressed in something more fitting to a ninja?" Sasuke sneered at the bright orange jacket and cargo pants Naruto wore. "You're not a student anymore." _

_Sakura nodded as well, eyes glued to Sasuke as if his words were the living truth. "Yeah, Naruto. I mean—Sasuke is right. You don't even look like a ninja." Her nose turned up as she adjusted her headband, giving Sasuke a worshipping smile, but he only ignored her. "Ninjas are supposed to hide. Not be … well, as vulgar looking as you."_

_Naruto scowled at Sasuke, but couldn't bring himself to glare at the girl that he liked so much. "Well.. you're not exactly hiding either." He muttered. "Your red dress stands out, too." He saved his glare for Sasuke, who just gave him an impassive look back. Kakashi's hands rested on both Naruto and Sasuke's head, and he smiled through his mask. "Now, we don't want any of that." He chided. "Smile for the camera." The flash went off, immortalizing the start of Team Seven. _

"Time changes a person." He murmured to himself, wondering what happened to those people. They faced so many things after they graduated and become shinobi of Konoha. So many…until the point where it ended up with most of them dead too early. Sasuke and Hinata, Kiba and Ino… countless others he could name and who were listed on the monument of heroes. Even Sasuke…

"Naruto…" There was _this _Sasuke. It really hadn't taken him very long after all to come after Naruto. He made sure his expression didn't give anything away and the that picture was hidden from the curious eyes of the other boy. He didn't want him seeing things he didn't need to, making connections that had no right in being made.

"I spent a while in Konoha. Probably didn't get to see a fourth of what was there, but—what I saw—" Sasuke's voice was uncertain, and Naruto stared at him. "It must have been a hard life." He offered. "Growing up as a ninja."

Naruto blinked in shock. He hadn't expected that. He thought there would be demands, but that was the only conclusion that Sasuke came to? He made a remark about the name Sasuke, then voiced his thoughts that being a ninja was a _bad_ thing?

He shook his head. "It was the best thing in my life." He said honestly. "Becoming strong, training every day—protecting people." His voice went soft. "Even if no one sees you, you're still able to help them. And maybe… just maybe… you leave your mark in some way that people can see later." His smiled turned bright again. "You'll have to talk to some of the shinobi. You'll change your mind."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked bluntly. "You weren't only a shinobi, but the Hokage." He raised an eyebrow. "If anyone can tell me about what it was like…what it was really like to be a shinobi, I would think you'd be the best one." His offered smile was tentative. "Maybe it's time we got to actually know each other."

A surprised look flitted across Naruto's features. Sasuke had steadily trying to get rid of Naruto in some way for the past several months. Apparently the trip to Konoha had changed some of his viewpoints. "I think I'd like that." He murmured. _And it wouldn't hurt to know this new Sasuke, either._ He reminded himself. _To get to know him again. It won't be the same as the past—but it's a start for something._


	3. Cleaning Up

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Three

By; Lazuli

PG-13-ish

Disclaimer—I obviously don't own Naruto, since I'm an American female and not Masashi Kishimoto.

It almost became easier living with Naruto after they made the join decision to get to know each other. Naruto still kept on his mask of cheerfulness—which annoyed Sasuke, because he thought the blond was trying to 'hide' still, and Sasuke kept on poking around the apartments, trying to find clues to the past that Naruto _wouldn't_ talk about.

But Naruto did talk about his childhood some—how the village never accepted him, and earning his way toward becoming a respectable shinobi. "I guess you already learned some stuff about me from the Hokage and such.. but.." His brows drew in, voice uncertain as if he were debating with telling Sasuke anything really important about himself. "Most of what you might have assumed is crap." He finally said bluntly. "Honored Rokudaime business aside, I _fought_ to earn that place—my entire life I fought." His gaze was fierce.

Sasuke just gave him a mild look at that, taking a bite out of the rice ball he was eating. "I didn't assume anything." He said blandly. "Except that there had to be more than "your life had to be perfect because of your destiny' bullshit." He raised an eyebrow and gestured with his meal. "Care to elaborate?"

Naruto tensed and looked away for a moment. "It doesn't really matter any more.. does it?" He asked softly, more to himself than to Sasuke. "I wasn't well liked at all, growing up. Sasuke was my only real friend—and even that was a little weird." He grinned at that, hands resting behind his head as he continued. "It wasn't until he almost died saving my life when we were twelve that I realized that he meant a lot to me—and it would've sucked to lose someone that I actually cared about."

Sasuke was silent, processing that. He always had friends growing up—real friends and superficial ones, ones that understood his family life and ones that flocked around him because of his name. He couldn't imagine not having any… but there had to be more to it than just Naruto being friendless. "What else?" He asked calmly, eyes meeting Naruto's without flinching. "There had to be something else…"

Naruto blinked in surprise that Sasuke was pursuing that line of thought, then shrugged. "That and pretty much everyone in the village loathed my existence." He said it easily, as if it was normal for those type of feelings to be directed at someone. "They blamed me for an event that happened when I was born, and so they acted as if I didn't exist." His smile didn't show any of the pain that _had_ to be there from relating something so… so personal. "So I decided to make myself known, for people to see me. That's when I decided I was going to become Hokage, so people would acknowledge _me_." He paused a moment, eyes far away. "I didn't care about anyone but myself at that point, because no one cared for me."

Sasuke stared at him, stunned. It didn't seem right that this person could have that sort of attitude—it didn't fit him. And how exactly had he become Hokage if he only cared for himself? Naruto had told him that the important part of becoming Hokage—and the reason why he became Hokage—was so that he could protect people. That was why he stuck around and watched over people—and this place. "Naruto…" He couldn't get his brain to process anything more intelligent than that.

Naruto shrugged at that, the easy smile back on his face. "Well, a few things changed that—but the important thing was that life wasn't easy for me, and no one should think that everything was perfect and went smoothly the day I became Hokage. There was still a lot of resentment over a demon becoming the strongest ninja, so much talk and hatred aimed toward me still. If it wasn't for the ingrained sense of duty that the villagers had, I probably would have been killed in my bed. As it was, they needed a strong leader at that point, and I was the best candidate."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that. "People are stupid." He said succinctly. "I think it'd be better if the kids in that academy of yours knew more about you and how you earned your way to the top, then just hearing about how great you did once you got there." His eyes gleamed slightly in amusement. "What else do you want me to pass along?"

Naruto looked shocked for a moment, mouth opening but no words coming out. After a moment, his eyes started to brighten as he grinned. "Tell you what… start off with telling them about my favorite food…."

So that Sasuke could understand things better, such as how things worked in Konoha, Naruto explained some of the levels of missions—how new graduates hardly ever got anything really exciting.

"People get confused as to what shinobi do." He explained, giving the impression of leaning against the wall in the kitchen while Sasuke ate his lunch. "Half the time, we were rescuing a mangy cat or fishing or painting walls." He snorted. "A lot of the reason why we were hired for that was because of our stamina—why hire somebody who'd wear themselves out in the middle of the job? We were cheap labor and easy to find and trust." His smile was soft, though. "But it built up our stamina and our trust in each other—teamwork was very important and dealing with all types of people. Everyone was important, not just the high lords that could afford us for the dangerous missions. There wasn't always a war going on or people in danger. Knowing what made up all aspects of the people in our country was the real reason behind the lower level missions."

"So that's how you knew about fixing things up." Sasuke said dryly. Looking around the apartments outside, he made a face. "Maybe we could hire one of the gennin teams?" He suggested tentatively. He knew that Naruto liked being around people, but didn't have many visitors for a reason he hadn't specified yet. And he could tell that Naruto missed seeing the people of his village. "It'll give them good practice." He said logically, but looking slightly discomforted. He was quickly becoming fond of Konohagakure, even with the few visits he'd paid it so far. He almost felt like he could become a part of it—even if he was separated from it.

Naruto blinked in surprise for a moment, before his lips curved into a smile. "That's a very good idea." He drawled. "What took you so long to catch on to the idea?" Gritting his teeth against the mocking tone, Sasuke simply stared at him. That set off Naruto again, his eyes bright with laughter. "Oh, come on—you already said that your family hired shinobi before for little tasks. Who did you think I meant when I suggested there are others who can fix up this place?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the laughing ghost. "You also said that this was your friends estate and that I didn't have a say in what to do with." He pointed out, teeth gritted in the effort to hold back his temper. "I assumed that meant in fixing it up and people going where they aren't supposed to go." His tone softened slightly. "You said that you wanted things left alone."

"Not that hasn't stopped you from poking around." Naruto interjected. "And you or I can move stuff around, hide it or various other things so that they don't come across something they shouldn't." He shrugged. "Most of the stuff that belonged to Sasuke or me is in the main house." He paused for a moment. "Which you seemed to have fun thoroughly exploring."

"It's my house too, you know." He muttered, meeting Naruto's gaze. "Why can't I explore the place I live? Or are you just looking forward to the day where you're going to kick me out?" There was more than a touch of bitterness attached to that statement. After all, his parents kicked him out when they wanted to, when he wasn't living up to their high standards of what he did all his life. "Naruto?"

The ghost rolled his eyes at Sasuke's tone. "Don't get your hair all in a twist." He snorted. "Yeah, it's your place now—but would you go through a shrine simply because you were tasked with taking care of it? You wouldn't, so think of this in the same way. You have your own space-which I'm not going to kick you out of—and that which came before is _my_ stuff, which I don't want you to touch."

"Why do you go through your friends stuff, then?" Sasuke shot back, irked at the double standard all of a sudden. "He died before you did and yet you have a hold of his personal things!" He noticed the growing anger on Naruto's face and paused in his tirade.

"I don't go through his stuff, moron." Naruto bit out. "I watch over it, I keep separate. I go through my stuff all the time. Those weapons are mine—the hitai-ate is mine because Sasuke dropped it by my head before he ran off to Orochimaru." He snapped. "You don't see what I do every second of the day and your assumptions suck. If you notice, there isn't much of _his_ stuff around. He lost a great deal of it when he ran away. He didn't accumulate a lot after that."

Sasuke fell silent, stunned a little at that. There was the peak of Naruto's real emotions again—just barely. The blond ghost got angry a lot—and defensive when it came to the mention of his friend. He stared at the floor for a moment before mumbling out an apology.

Naruto just shook his head. "Look—he was really my only friend." He said softly. "I didn't really … have any friends growing up… and Sasuke and I were a lot alike. I would never do that to him—he…he had been betrayed too many times in his life to have the one person he trusted betray him after death." His eyes were fierce when he met Sasuke's. "I told you—I need him to forgive me…I want him to smile and say that it's okay when we see each other again." He stared down at his hands, as if he could see something there that wasn't visible to Sasuke. "Do you know why I'm stuck here, Sasuke?" He asked softly. "Instead of going on to wherever the dead go?"

Sasuke shook his head slowly, bewildered. He never asked for why Naruto was here, really—he didn't feel that it was really important and he put it in the back of his head after he got to know Naruto a little bit better. He decided to change the subject completely. "You don't have to tell me now." He offered softly. "I'm sure that when the time is right… I'll find out." He smirked slightly, some of his old attitude back. "Until then, Naruto… why don't we pay tribute to your friend and start to get this place fixed up." He paused as the thought occurred to him. "How much does it cost to hire a gennin team, anyways?"

Sasuke rubbed his head, feeling the impending headache. Naruto had given him instructions on what they needed the gennin team for, how to go about hiring them, and how much money they needed. He then removed the jutsu surrounding the Uchiha estate and shoved Sasuke through without any further explanation. Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion that Naruto was going to do some rearranging while he was gone and didn't want Sasuke to see where things were hidden or how he did a lot of things. "Stupid, sneaky bastard." He muttered to himself.

"Hey, you're back!" An excited voice chirped by his ear. He blinked in surprised to see Inara. "Naruto kick you out?" She teased, grabbing his arm and dragging him down the street. Now that she wasn't 'on duty' she seemed much more like a kid. "Or are you here for a specific reason?"

He tried to keep up with her, her words and her movements were almost a blur to his senses. "I'm here to hire gennin for fixing up the Uchiha estate." He managed to get out around her babbling. She stopped dead in her tracks at that, staring at him as if he'd lost his senses. Her next words confirmed it.

"Are you serious?" Her eyes were wide with disbelief. "Naruto-sama is going to let you fix up the Uchiha estate?" She shook her head, the braids her hair was in today flying around her face. "I can't imagine that Naruto-sama would let anyone near his place but you, Sasuke."

Shrugging, he resumed his walk down the street to his original destination. "He is the one that suggested hiring a gennin team to take care of it." He said simply, not waiting to see if she was following him. "Or agreed to my suggestion. He said that it was a common practice around here."

"Well… it is…" She fumbled with her words. "But.. no one has really been on the Uchiha estate… and… well.." She ran after him, trying to make sense of what he was telling her. His face was too serious for it to be a joke but it couldn't be real…

"You are the one that said he should have more people around him." He raised an eyebrow at her. "And he misses seeing people." He looked straight ahead again, both of them almost at the 'hiring' center for shinobi. "Don't you think he wishes that he could be back in Konoha, seeing the type of people's he's grown up with and trained with? The ones that were a part of his life?"

Inara didn't have an answer for that as she followed him inside. He went straight toward the table, eyes taking in the sparse room and it's lack of furnishing, save for the tables in the back, the sign "Do a Good Job" hanging overhead. It felt weird being here, a sort of déjà vu that he couldn't readily shake off. He ignored the impulse to go to that table, and moved instead to the one in the corner, a lone ninja manning it and looking incredibly bored. Even as Sasuke came up to the table, he was stifling a yawn behind his hand, and nearly choked on it when Sasuke paused in front of the table.

"Can I help you?" His eyes flicked from Inara to Sasuke, his brow furrowing as if he was trying to place Sasuke, or confused that he was at _this_ table as opposed to the one for the shinobi.

Sasuke's brows rose at that and he glanced over at Inara. "Is this what happen to everyone who wants to hire someone?" He questioned, not really aiming it at her or the man behind the counter. He was confused and a little irked at the mindless staring.

"Oh! I'm sorry… you just look… like someone I've seen before." The man's eyes were narrowed in speculation, then he waved it off. "Eh, probably because we get so many people in here every day. I'm sorry about that." He smiled brightly at Sasuke. "You said that you needed to hire a gennin team?"

Sasuke nodded, arms crossed over his chest. "At least, I was told that I should hire a gennin team for this, since it's not that difficult of an…assignment." He pulled out the paper that had the instructions on it. "I need my place repaired. It will take a lot of strength, hours and dedication." He wanted to make the assignment sound like it was demanding (because it was) and to make whatever gennin got the assignment to feel like they received a good one, instead of basic 'crap' work, as Naruto had put it.

The man nodded, taking the paper Sasuke handed him, skimming over the contents. The color drained from his face when he saw where it was, and he gave Sasuke a sharper look than before. "The Uchiha estate?" He asked, voice almost choked sounding. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Is everyone going to react this way?" He snapped. "Yes, the Uchiha estate." He said slowly. "It's in a horrible state of disrepair and since I am the sole owner of it, I decided that it's rather disrespectful to those that once lived there to let it crumble like that." His dark eyes met the man's as he glared. "Or do I have to go somewhere else that won't treat the estates with the level of respect I know a shinobi from here will?"

Several heads turned towards him, including the team of gennin that just came in. "Fine, fine…" He muttered. "Since you asked for a gennin team…" He made a face. "I'll turn this over to the Hokage with the rest of the assignments for today and you will have your answer tomorrow. A team will be at your place tomorrow either way." He nodded to the person standing behind Sasuke. "Next!"

"So they said someone would be here eventually." Sasuke related to Naruto. "That guy was giving me the strangest look when I told him where it was, though." _And gave me strange looks beforehand, but I don't think that Naruto really has to know that._

Naruto shrugged, flipping kunai in the air, aiming them towards a well-beaten target in the back yard of the house. It wasn't weird anymore to see Naruto 'practicing' like this. He said that even if he was a ghost and things couldn't harm him, it was no reason to let the lessons he was taught when he was alive go to waste. And that Sasuke could learn something by observing Naruto. It had quickly become an impromptu set of lessons.

Sasuke held his own kunai, eyeing the target. He sucked at this—he really did—but Naruto insisted that if he was going to live around and visit Konoha, he had to have some sort of basic skills. _"Most people learn at least knife throwing." He insisted. "I can't teach you anything really useful—'cause you don't have the charka to use it and that's pretty much all that I am at the moment—so flinging weapons is pretty much the only way unless you can convince someone to teach you."_

He let his mind wander, not really thinking about what happened that day or what he was going to say to the kids when they showed up here, especially if they saw Naruto. If they'd freak just as bad as everyone else seemed to at the idea of being at the Uchiha estate. He didn't realize it let the knife go, and only Naruto's astonished yelp brought him back to the present. "What happened?" He demanded. Naruto's wry look and gesture made him look at the target. The kunai had hit the dummy, exactly where the heart would be.

He stared at it with wide eyes, wondering how the hell he had done it when he never even got close to it before. "You didn't help it along?" He asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed on the ghost. He could manipulate things easily…

"What would be the point of that?" Naruto looked offended at the very suggestion. "You wouldn't have learned anything from that, and it would be degrading. You hit it on your own." In truth, Naruto was unnerved by the look that had entered Sasuke's eyes as he threw the kunai. He'd obviously been distracted before he let it go, but instead of it falling flat, he had held it with an ease that spoke of everyday use, the casual movement that showed instinct before the weapon struck. It was like…like before. He grimaced at that. That type of thinking wouldn't help him or Sasuke. Sometimes it was best to accept the past was the past, and even ghosts weren't exempt.

He shook his head free of that thought before it could go any further. "Very good." He said instead, tossing another knife at Sasuke. He wanted to see if it was a fluke. "Care to try again?" Sasuke looked rather dazed as he stared at the target, but didn't make a mark the rest of the day.

It was barely dawn the next morning when the knocking came on the door. Sasuke groaned and held his pillow over his head, trying to block out the sound. Who on earth would be at his place _this_ early in the morning?

"Sasu-ke…" Naruto's voice was annoyingly close to him and he grabbed his pillow, smacking out with it to where Naruto would normally be. There was no connection and he frowned, sitting up._ He's not there…_He sleepy brain tried to wake up. When his eyes refocused, he saw the grinning blond opposite of the place he hit.

"You're slow this morning." He taunted. "Anyways, your gennin for hire are here." Sasuke wondered vaguely why a gennin team would be at his place, when all the gears suddenly clicked into place. _Rebuilding, hired gennin team to help rebuild estate…_

Shooing the laughing ghost away from the room, he hurriedly dressed and went out to meet his shinobi-for-hire. They were younger than he expected—gennin were normally young and inexperienced (which was why they got the lowest 'missions') but these looked to be fresh academy graduates.

"Are you Sensu Sasuke?" The older man heading the time gave him an appraising look, somewhat surprised—the same look he had gotten from most of the adults in the village. He wondered vaguely, in some small corner of his mind, if Naruto had gone through this same ritual growing up. He didn't voice any of his thoughts or let it show on his face, except to nod and gesture the team in.

They were a solemn bunch, except the one girl fidgeting and looking rather annoyed, arms crossed over her chest as she glanced around. He gaze her and her companions an appraising stare, wondering if Naruto was going to pop out of the walls at any second. All of them looked way too overconfident, but it wouldn't do to scare off his workers right from the beginning.

"Would you like to introduce yourselves?" He asked calmly. "Since you will be working here for quite some time, it would be nice to know at least your names." Casually leaning against he wall, he waited.

The teacher spoke first stepping forward and laying a hand on one of the boys heads. "My name is Nara Shiba, jounin rank shinobi, and this is Team 4." He said calmly. "Introduce yourselves." He ordered his team.

The girl looked at him sullenly, arms crossed over her chest still. "Nakayama Kia." She mumbled. "Gennin rank." Her eyes dared him to make fun of the fact she was the only girl on the team, before flicking over to her teammates. Her dark hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and her outfit looked almost … ironed. Sasuke winced inwardly. This was a girl that seemed to take _every_ mission seriously, and obviously resented being regulated to this one.

One of the boys on her other side grinned widely at Sasuke. "I'm Shourai Mika." He said, blue eyes bright as he introduced himself. "You obviously already know my rank, since Kia and I are on the same team, and we got ol' Shiba to tag along with us."

The last boy was as calm and serious as the other boy was exuberant, and showed no signs of resentment like Kia did, and he realized he had the same blank-eyed stare as the teacher did. "Hyuuga Aki." His voice was controlled, careful and had not a hint of disrespect in it. "I hope that our work will please you."

Sasuke nodded, a little unnerved. He gave out the list of assignments, warning the children to be careful of the broken floors inside many of the houses along the avenue. Shiba just smiled. "It will be good training for them." He said easily. "There's a few things we can cover while moving around in there." He gave Sasuke one last, penetrating stare before following his students outside.

Sasuke groaned and slumped into a chair. He wasn't sure why he agreed to it, he just knew that it would be a long day. He pondered vaguely watching his 'workers', but decided against it as Shiba hinted at 'training.' Gathering the kunai that Naruto had set aside for him, he went into the back for target practice.

Naruto still hadn't shown up yet, and that was starting to worry him. Not that he missed the ghost or anything, or was concerned that he could get hurt—but … it was weird without him around and only the team of gennin nearby. He blinked and nearly smacked his head at the loss of thought there. _The gennin team._ He muttered crossly to himself. _He's probably spying on them._

Reassured, he set to practicing his knife throwing once more, never noticing the eyes watching him the entire time, Shiba observing Sasuke carefully as he aimed the kunai at the target. He wanted to know more about this Sasuke—he wasn't dumb and he could see things that too many people were keeping silent. There were such things as coincidences, but more likely than not there was a specific purpose involved.

His grandfather had known the Rokudaime before he came into that position, but never had much to say about him. Not that Shiba ever really listened much—Shikamaru was old and his mind wandered most of the time, not being able to really focus on his grandson whenever he came to visit. He did say that Naruto was a good person, though—and deserved the position of leader more than anybody in the village. He wondered what Grandfather would have said if he'd known of Naruto supposedly sticking around the Uchiha estate. Or what he would say to this Sasuke that moved in here and became the owner.

He continued to watch, unnerved at the lack of skill that stuck out all over, but there was something underneath that almost struggled to do the moves properly. As if half the reason why the kunai fell so flat was because there were two different forces trying to control it. _What a ridiculous thought._ He muttered to himself. But he couldn't entirely discount it.

Stepping forward, he was ready to confront Sasuke, when a hand stopped him. He spun around to see the image of the Rokudaime, and his mouth dropped open in shock. He, like most other people, thought the whole ghost business was just a legend. "You're dead." He said blankly, mind completely thrown off for the first time in a long time.

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I am—it's not really a big deal to me anymore. I've rather gotten used to it." His eyes flicked over to where Sasuke was training, having noticed Shiba's earlier scrutiny. "Even if you notice something." He murmured softly. "Don't say anything to him. If someone is reborn, they aren't meant to repeat their past."

Shiba stared at him, eyes wide. "Gh…ghosts of previous Hokage shouldn't stick around either." He managed. "Both are a little unreal." He stared first at Naruto, then at Sasuke. "And the two of you together." He moaned. "Grandpa didn't talk a lot, but jeez… when he did…" His expression turned from stunned to irritated. "Most of my family knows what happened to Uchiha Sasuke…"

He was abruptly muffled as Naruto glared at him, hands still the position of the seal he just formed. "I repeat—he doesn't know." He said firmly. "No one does, although I would bet a hell of a lot people suspect. His looks are rather distinctive." He rolled his eyes. "It's why everyone freaks out when they see me." He pointed to the whisker marks, annoyance clearly on his face. "There's a reason why I don't show up a great deal."

Shiba snickered at that, much more relaxed now. He could almost ignore the fact that he was talking to the ghost of a long-dead, really _famous_ Hokage. "Well, I guess that you would know something of what to do." He conceded. With one last look at Sasuke—and the spectacular way he missed the large target—he started moving back towards the apartments where his team was. "I better go check on the kids. Care to come with me and scare some respect into them?"

Naruto smirked, eyes brightening with the though of being able to create mischief, even as a ghost. "I'd be honored."

Kia looked up from where she was gathering scraps of wood, her feet planted firmly on the side of the wall. She didn't recognize the jounin that came in with her teacher. He looked vaguely familiar, but not in a way that was really important to her. Shrugging it off, she walked carefully over the wall and set the wood down in the ever growing pile. It wasn't until the stranger poked his head through the wall next to her, did she let out a gasp and lost her footing. A line of energy practically flung her to a safe part of the room and she glared at the grinning jounin.

"That wasn't very nice of you." She muttered, dusting off her hands. "I could have been seriously hurt." She said primly. Her eyes swept over him, taking in the scruffy blonde hair and rumpled uniform, dismissing him as unimportant, despite his higher ranking. "You should know better." She lectured.

Shiba stifled a snicker at that, shaking his head. "You're not using very good observation skills." He raised an eyebrow at her, "But I can dismiss the bad lighting in here for not noticing." He looked over at Naruto. "Do you want to explain it to her or let her figure it our for herself?"

The man just smiled and shrugged, looking amused still. "Eh, she looks like a smart girl and she'll figure it out eventually." He winked at her and vanished, minus the smoke. She stared at the place he left, eyes narrowed in speculation.

Sasuke watched the team interact, a strange expression on his face—a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Mika was currently dancing around Kia, avoiding her fists as he mocked her. "He was a ghost, Kia…" He drawled. "How you not noticed when he vanished and popped out of the wall right next to you?"

Her face darkened and she crossed her arms over her chest. "The lighting was poor, you idiot." She bit out. "Aki didn't notice anything and he's part of the Hyuuga line." Her nose stuck up in the air and the look she gave Aki was clearly worshipping. He just ignored the look.

"Mika was able to observe the common. Not everything has to be hidden." He said calmly. "There was an overwhelming charka, which indicated that there was no container for it. Don't blame yourself for not seeing it.. Your strengths lie elsewhere."

She looked mollified, and completely ignoring Mika she smiled brightly at Aki. "You're right…"

Sasuke rubbed his eyes—for a second the dark haired girl seemed to have a pink tint to her hair, and Mika almost seemed like a younger Naruto. There was a gut wrenching disorientation, as if he was in two places at once, then it passed, leaving him only with that feeling of disconnection and a tinge of sadness. He glared fiercely at the target in front of him, eyes smarting with tears. _It's only because I wish I shared that. _He thought fiercely, putting any other weird feelings out of his head.

When he looked at the group again, they resumed their normal appearances, and while the name _Sakura_ lingered in the back of his mind he couldn't place it or why he even thought of it. Shrugging it off, he picked up the stray kunai and set out to find Naruto, before the idiot did something else. It was also break time and he _had _promised the team he would feed him. Calling them inside the main house, he ignored the strange looks given to him by all four of those he hired.

He was getting used to it, after all.


	4. Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Four

By: Lazuli

PG-13

Disclaimers and general notes: One—I am not Kishimoto-sensei, so saying I own Naruto is pretty much out. For this chapter, I have to thank my awesome pre-reader/beta/overall awesome person for their help in getting this sucker out. I had such a time with this chapter, and having her there to read and go over it (plus with some really amusing ideas) it helped a great deal to get this out and reasonably well. I hope you all enjoy!

It was weird, having someone in the kitchen besides him and Naruto. And having all these people—It wasn't alike it was a bad thing, hearing the chatter and cheerful banter between the children while he scooped the rice into the bowls. _They sound like they're having fun._ He mused to himself. _Even when they were arguing not that long ago._ He never had sibling, so he wasn't aware of what it was like—and he didn't share the same type of friendship these three seemed to have.

"Was your team like that?" He asked quietly, gesturing towards the way the kids and their teacher interacted. Naruto didn't speak much of his teammates—except to say Sasuke was on his team, but he could tell that whatever he did think of them—it was positive most of the time. _A family?_ He thought vaguely. He thought he remembered Naruto telling him that Team 7 was like the family he always wanted.

Naruto shrugged at that. "We were never that talkative with each other, but we related on a lot of levels. Like…Sakura and I always yelling at Kakashi-sensei when he was late—or how serious Sasuke and I took our training and sparring. The mission was always so important to us—" He smiled back at the team in the dining room, even if they couldn't see them. "They're a lot closer and I can tell—it's the way it should be."

_Sakura?_ Sasuke thought vaguely to himself. That was the name that slipped through his mind the other night…She was Naruto's teammate? _Naruto probably mentioned her before._ He thought vaguely. He started cleaning up the bowls from the earlier meal. "You can't just judge from one meeting." Sasuke snorted and tried to get Naruto's mind off whatever lane it was traveling down. "You were close in your own way." He pointed out. "Even if you argued with each other or teased one another—you were family and protected each other when it really counted." He wasn't sure how he knew what he knew—it just seemed logical to him—but Naruto was staring at him with a sort of astonishment on his face.

"That's the way it was." He said slowly. "I saw them as my family…" His eyes crinkled at the corners. "Every last one of us dysfunctional, but it was fun. I loved those days." His gaze was distant for a moment. "That's one of the reasons why I loved being a shinobi. I gained a family from them… people could look at me and be able to talk to me, relate to me—I understood how people were." He grinned. "I got out Konohagakure and saw so much." He smirked at Sasuke. Too bad you didn't grow up here, Sasuke. I'm sure you would have fit in easily."

Sasuke didn't say anything to that, of how he agreed or wished that he did grow up here instead of where he did. He liked it here a lot and didn't want to leave anytime soon. Even if Naruto wanted to kick him out still—which he doubted—he didn't want to go. Some part of him was more relaxed here than it had ever been. Even though he didn't talk to a lot of people here, he fell more and more in place with the workings of Konoha. Even if spent a lot of time alone with a ghost that had been dead for almost a hundred years—it was like he just made the best friend of his life.

He wasn't going to give that up without a fight.

He and Naruto rejoined the gennin team before they went back to work, giving them a short tour of the estate—including the training area. Mika's eyes were wide at seeing the legendary Uchiha compound, and Aki coolly observing the area. Kia was the only one who didn't seem to have an interest, but sported a slight scowl. Sasuke wondered what she was thinking.

As Mika took his hand at throwing one of his shuriken at the dummy, the topic of previous gennin teams came up. They already knew who their teacher had on _his _gennin team, but it was much more interesting to find out who the Rokudaime had on his. Especially since the Rokudaime was currently in front of them, long-dead ghost and all. Mika was the one who initially asked the question, but all eyes turned towards Naruto, interested in answer—even Kia who had previously been indifferent.

Naruto smirked. "Only the best were on _my_ team." He bragged. "Haruno Sakura, who later trained under the Godaime—and Uchiha Sasuke." His eyes didn't betray anything at that particular name. "And our teacher was the Copycat Ninja, the great Hatake Kakashi. We were the first team that he ever taught." He was seemingly perched on top of one of the targets, the sunlight streaming through him clearly, giving him the appearance of spun glass.

"I've never heard a great deal about him." Mika fidgeted slightly, unnerved by the image of Naruto on top of the targets that he was throwing at. "Most people hush up quick about him if anyone starts to bring it up." He looked up at Naruto, blue eyes innocently curious. "Do you mind us asking? Since we're at the Uchiha estate and all…"

Naruto smiled faintly, if a little proudly that he was once on the same team as Sasuke, that he was acknowledged as the boys friends. "His clan was one of the greatest in Konoha—just like the Hyuuga clan." He nodded towards Aki. "They were an advanced bloodline and even had some special jutsus beyond the bloodline that only they knew." His voice lowered. "The creepiest thing about them was their eyes." He said, barely being able to contain the amusement in his voice.

"Really?" Mika asked eagerly. "Even weirder than the Hyuuga clan?" He blushed and looked at Aki, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "No offense meant, Aki." He said cheerfully. "I think it's kinda cool what your family does, but… ya know…?" His voice trailed off.

Aki just waved it off, a small smile on his face. "Our eyes allow us to see much more than yours, Mika." He said calmly. "I do not feel ashamed of the way I look, but proud at the sign of my clan." He turned his gaze towards Naruto. "I have heard some of what the Uchiha clan was capable of from my grandfather." His lips turned into an amused smile. "Sharingan, wasn't it?" He asked. "The main thing I know was that it was said to be descended from our own clan."

Naruto nodded, expression still carefully cheerful. "That's about right." He agreed easily enough. "There were actually four levels to the Sharingan—" He faltered for a moment, then continued on as if nothing happened. "And only the Uchiha clan could achieve all four levels and use the Sharingan. It was their legacy of an advanced bloodline." He smiled. "They could do other things, though—that didn't involve needing the bloodline specifically."

"Like what?" Kia demanded. "Don't tell me that there are techniques completely lost!" She looked horrified at the thought and almost demanding, as if Naruto could explain what the techniques were and how to use them.

"It's none of your business." It took Sasuke a moment to realize that the voice was his. Everyone looked at him with surprise at his outburst and he just huffed, avoiding their gazes. "If it was lost, it was meant to be that way." He said softly.

Kia shook her head violently at that. "You wouldn't understand because you're not a ninja. The Uchiha clan had some of the best techniques outside of an advanced bloodline—" She paused for a moment, brow wrinkling in thought. "Even if they were an advanced bloodline—every family had techniques that only they knew—and it helped us out in times of war. Why should we let the Uchiha clan techniques vanish forever if we can have a chance to get them back?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the both of them. "It doesn't matter, since I was never taught them and the scrolls have been lost for ages." He pointed out. "No one is going to learn the techniques because no one knows them."

Sasuke smirked at Kia, pleased that he was going to win this one and that Naruto was on his side. Kia didn't take it nearly as graciously, though. She got up from where she was sitting in the practice yard, eyes narrowed at Naruto and Sasuke both. "Well, _I _think you're hiding something and I'll find it eventually." She looked at her two teammates. "Are you coming?" She demanded. "We still have work to complete."

Aki and Mika simply gave her bewildered looks, but complied with her glares. "I guess so…" Mika said doubtfully, looking back at Sasuke. "With your leave, Sensu-san….we'll get started again."

Sasuke gave an absent nod, wondering why it bothered him so much to have Kia get her hands on the techniques. They were unique to the Uchiha clan, weren't they? Didn't they deserve to die out when the last person died out? After everyone left, he decided to follow and listen in—he didn't have to make any dumb excuses for wandering around his own place, but he was determined to see why Kia was giving her teammates demanding looks. Shiba was talking with Naruto by the practice dummies, and neither of them stopped Sasuke.

"Well, I'm glad there aren't anymore of the Uchiha clan." Kia's voice carried clearly to where he was, and he involuntarily clenched his fists. "They were a bad bloodline, _I_ heard. One of them murdered almost the entire clan, and the other went nuts, too—he betrayed the village when he was just twelve or something." She huffed and didn't seem to mind that none of her teammates were responding to her rant. "The Uchiha clan was nothing but hot air." She finally declared. "They got beaten by one shinobi—and didn't even suspect their own blood. The village was so enamored with the idiots that they didn't even think of stopping it."

Sasuke glared at where the girl was, even though she couldn't see him. _How dare she speak about it like that? She wasn't alive, she doesn't know what went on. She has no right o assume a damn thing about what…_He shook his head clear of the thoughts. _Hanging around Naruto so often has warped my way of thinking._ He muttered to himself, but he didn't stop listening in.

"And the Rokudaime?" He could practically see her pointy little nose tilting up in the air and he had to suppress the urge to smack her. "Everyone in my family agrees that he should have never become Hokage. With him being a demon and all, he wouldn't last very long in the office before _something_ went wrong." There was a different smirk to her voice now. "It serves him right, being a ghost. He and that betrayer belonged in this crumbling estate together. Both a pair of pathetic losers. Konoha shouldn't have thrown them both out of the village before they were able to do damage."

He could vaguely hear Aki's calm voice trying to break down her reasoning, cutting through her argument. He didn't waste time listening to it, though. That little girl had the nerve to insult Naruto, in his own home. That she would insult a former Hokage of Konoha angered him. She had to learn not to do something like that.

He wasn't aware of himself moving forward until her gasp sounded in the room. His hands clenched at his sides as he moved closer. Naruto was his friend, Naruto had been the leader of Konoha and some little girl was talking about him? When she was too young to no him and just repeated the nonsense that everyone said about him?

"_Shut up._" Sasuke barely recognized his own voice, the cold anger in it almost tangible. "You don't know a thing about Naruto, or the past." His eyes were dark—much darker than they usually were and there was a frightening, almost dangerous anger there as Sasuke confronted Kia. He stalked towards her, with an easy grace that spoke of being able to move silently—quickly—like a shinobi would. Her next words dried in her throat as he focused that unnerving gaze completely on her.

"You made a mistake in insulting Naruto." He murmured, moving ever closer to her. "I really do not appreciate it…even if the words were not directed at him…" His eyes narrowed on her. "It was not his fault that he had a demon sealed in him—he fought his entire life to protect the village, and this is the respect he gets?" His lips curled into a low smirk. "Maybe I should refresh your memory on how to treat someone in such a high position." She was frozen in place, not being able to move past him or perform any moves that could save her. "You wanted to learn about the Uchiha clan's techniques, little girl?" He taunted. "I'll be happy to demonstrate for you."

Starting to move his hands in the familiar seals that would start one of the fire jutsus, he didn't pay any attention to Mika and Aki bolting out the door, heading for Shiba and Naruto—he barely noticed Naruto suddenly appearing next to him, but he did glance out of the corner of his eye for a moment. "Leave me alone, dobe." He hissed out. "You don't always have to watch me. This little girl decided that she could insult a Hokage _and _try and take the Uchiha clan secrets for herself."

Naruto grimaced and wished that he could restrain the idiot before he got either the girl or himself hurt. "You moron." He wanted to shake him. "She was insulting me, not you. You don't have to defend me against something like that." He didn't even want to bring up how personal Sasuke was taking the comments about t he Uchiha clan. He was already disturbed by the way Sasuke looked—the familiar nickname he tossed so easily at Naruto—the way his hands were posed to perform a seal. _Too bad the dead can't really hurt themselves._ He gave a mental grumble. _Because I'd love to thump my head on the proverbial brick wall right now. How am I supposed to answer the questions that are going to come from this?_

Sasuke blinked at him, the dangerous look gone from his eyes. "I was just tying to straighten some things out." He said, confused as to why everyone looked at him, as if unsure how to treat him. "I don't like my friends being insulted, that's all—and you said how important it is that the Uchiha clan's things don't get touched or messed with." He gave a sheepish grin. "I guess I kind of lost myself there for a moment."

Kia made a weird choking sound at that as she took another step backwards. Mika heard the floor cracking before it collapsed, and ignoring Sasuke and how creepy he was acting, he dove towards her and shoved her out of the way before she hit the bottom. _Everyone_ heard the thud as he hit the ground and Sasuke's little breakdown was forgotten in the face of the more immediate problem.

Kia looked over the edge, face pale and eyes wide. When her gaze landed on what looked like a dead body, her scream echoed throughout the estate. It took her teacher and her other teammate to calm her down. Naruto put the rest of her fears to rest when he assured her that Mika was just a little dazed and the 'dead body' was nothing more than a pile of scrolls.

It appeared that the jutsus of the Uchiha clan were not completely lost after all.

Shiba was tucking away the smaller scrolls in a pouch and tying the larger scrolls to the backs of his students. He had to get these back to the Hokage, so that he could decide what should be done with them. With no heir to the Uchiha estate and thus the scrolls—the decision would most likely be to return them to the village and have them as standard techniques for all students in the academy. Team 4 wanted to open the scrolls right away, but neither Shiba or Naruto would permit it to happen.

He had a brief talk with Naruto before he went to his team. "I really don't want these left here, especially with how unstable your friend is acting." He looked immensely concerned over the whole matter. While he wanted to get Mika and the scrolls back to Konoha, he couldn't entirely discount how _weird_ Sasuke acted. "You need to check into this, Naruto. I think it's just gotten more serious than you know." Naruto just nodded at that, processing his words and assuring the man he'd look into it. Shiba just gave him a look and gathered h is team to make sure they understood how important the scrolls they were carrying were.

"They are not yours." Shiba had lectured severely. "This is an object retrieved on your mission, and as such you should treat it as the classified material it is. It first gets turned over to our village leader, and then based on the judgment of the Hokage, we will go from there." He gave them all a fierce look, but it was mostly aimed at Kia. "So stop pouting over it."

He bowed to Naruto and Sasuke, promising that they would come back tomorrow. Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted this particular team to come back—not with the way Kia acted and the trouble Mika got in—but he hired them for the duration of how long it took to take care of things… Naruto was already agreeing and Sasuke was too dazed to really protest at the moment. His head hurt and all he wanted to do was lie down until the pain went away.

After he and Naruto were alone, Sasuke's expression turned pleading and the tone the question of the question made Naruto hurt somewhere inside. "Naruto…was what happened so awful that they have to take away the jutsu scrolls?" He searched Naruto's face for an answer. "I thought… didn't you make a promise?" He sounded so lost, so like someone that lost everything dear to him. Naruto didn't know how to reply. He just closed his eyes, trying to hide his own expression.

"Yes, Sasuke." He wanted to comfort the dark haired boy, but he couldn't touch, couldn't have what he wanted. "It was that bad, but it will turn out okay. I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep my promise." He was rather sad himself at seeing the loss of the scrolls, secret jutsus that the Uchiha family had been proud of and kept close to themselves for generations. For it to be common practice… Naruto felt the weight of that broken promise and it cut deep. _Just one more thing I have to beg forgiveness for. _He thought sadly.

He managed to direct Sasuke up to bed, ordering that he had classes the next day, and even though he felt it his 'duty' to protect Naruto (from what, the ghost didn't know) Naruto insisted that his classes were more important and that was the reason why he came here in the first place. It was only because Sasuke was so confused that he was able to get him to cooperate at all.

After he was left alone, Naruto closed his eyes and was glad that he couldn't dream—but he could remember the past too clearly for his own comfort sometimes. And the memory of the day he promised Sasuke he'd look after the estate and everything in it came back to him in crystal clarity.

_Sasuke was still recovering from the battle that won him his freedom from his personal hell and Orochimaru, but the Godaime deemed it more soothing to everyone's piece of mind to have Uchiha Sasuke confined to his family's estates and to have a constant guard watching over him. While no one really liked the fact that Uzumaki Naruto—said to be Uchiha's only friend —was to be his guard, Tsunande said it was good training for when the boy later became Hokage. To distance himself from his feelings. Some had problems with Naruto becoming Hokage as well, but most had resigned themselves to the fact. _

_For the moment, Sasuke wasn't even able to get out of bed, his body trying to fight the remains of the curse seal and the wounds that had almost killed him. Naruto watched him silently behind the ANBU mask, his body language entirely neutral. Neither friend knew what to make of each other at that point—neither of them knew what to say._

_It was Sasuke who spoke first, his voice raspy and barely able to lift his head to glare at his silent friend. "Hey, Uzumaki." He levered himself up slightly, the only indication Naruto heard him was the slight change in body direction. "You ever wonder what will happen to this place once I die?" He was a little out of his head, not seeing much beyond the pain of now. He had achieved his goal of killing Itachi—he escaped Orochimaru, but with the way he gained his power, no one in the village would acknowledge his existence. None but Naruto--_

_"I don't really care_, Uchiha._." Naruto's voice was expressionless. "Since you'll probably live for at least a hundred years out of sheer arrogance." He ran a hand through the spikes of golden hair that were visible above the mask. "Stop acting like the world has come to an end just because you finally got beat enough that _you're_ the one bed-ridden, not me." Even behind the mask, Sasuke knew that Naruto was smirking. "Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" _

_Sasuke's face hardened at that. "I thought you understood, Naruto." He hissed out. "You were the only one that understood." He coughed, the tremors racking his body, a few bright drops of blood appearing on his hand. "Why are you trying to act like such an ass? It doesn't suit you."_

_Naruto turned away enough that he wasn't directly facing Sasuke, but could still keep an eye on him. On one level, it hurt to see that Naruto trusted him so little, but another part of him understood that Naruto was doing his job. He would have done the same thing if he was in his position. "I do understand." He said softly. "That's why it hurts so much to see you like this—to see this happen to you. You're not the Uchiha Sasuke I became friends with."_

_"Naruto…" Only because Sasuke knew Naruto so well could he pick out the pain in that statement, the hurt that he bottled up and hid from the world. Only he knew that there were more masks he wore than the visible ANBU one. Sasuke knew because he and Naruto were a lot more alike than either of them would ever admit—at least at the moment._

_"Hey…" He paused, eyes drifting down to the bed, the confinement to them more damning than any prison. "If I suddenly die, I want you to take care of my family's house." He lifted his chin and gave Naruto the most arrogant look he could muster at the moment. "I don't want you stealing my secrets or anything—but keep those nosy villagers out of my family's things." He wanted to cross his arms over his chest and look more commanding, but it was hard when he barely had the strength to move his hands and form the words, much less try and knock Naruto upside the head to drive the order home. "Damn vultures would descend upon this place to get all the Uchiha secrets." He let his own mask slip a little and he looked up at Naruto pleading. He almost seemed to be that boy from so long ago, the one that could lean on someone—if only for a second. "Don't let them take that away from me as well, Naruto."_

_Naruto sighed and bit his lip, glad that Sasuke couldn't see the uncertain movement. He knew that the chances of Sasuke surviving a long time were slim—Tsunande-baa-chan had told him from the start—but his also knew that Sasuke was a stubborn ass that would live just to turn up his nose at all the predictions people made. But he couldn't deny the wish of his only friend—the only real one he had. Sasuke looked like he wouldn't rest until he got an answer—and even though he wasn't anywhere close to dying at the moment, the idiot needed sleep. So Naruto gave his word to protect the Uchiha's jutsus. As soon as the words left his mouth, Sasuke gave him a real smile—one that hadn't graced his face in several years. Sleep-deprived lids closed over dark eyes, and Uchiha Sasuke let himself sleep and relax in the presence of the only person he called a friend. _

_Even if their friendship wasn't repaired yet from the damage it took early on, Naruto kept watch for the rest of the night. He wondered if Sasuke would even remember his demand in the morning, or the way he acted at all. Sasuke looked vulnerable in a way that he had never been before, pale skin mostly hidden by dark bruises and bandages, breathing labored as his body struggled to repair itself._

_Naruto wanted his friend back—but he knew that it would take a long time to bridge the gap that had been damaged on both ends. He consoled himself with the fact that Sasuke trusted him, in his most vulnerable state, in guarding the only legacy he had left of his family. He deemed it prudent to never mention it to the Uchiha again, lest it cause more trouble than it was worth It was enough that it occurred to him. He would never forget the promise he made—but sometimes it was best not to bring up things that were meant to be silent._

_Dark blue eyes watched his friend sleep, and he wondered where they were going to go from here. He and Sasuke were more alike than ever now—the village fearing both of them equally. He only hoped the village wouldn't decide to take it in their own hands to rectify themselves of the problem of the two 'demons' of Konoha._

Naruto was nowhere to be seen when Sasuke left for school the next morning, and he wondered if the events that occurred yesterday soured the way Naruto acted towards him. He didn't seem that angry yesterday, just rather distracted. Sasuke himself couldn't really remember all that went on, just that the little snot Kia was talking about Naruto like she knew everything—and it was mainly a blur until Mika fell through the floor and the jutsu scrolls from the Uchiha clan were discovered. He didn't feel too badly that he would be on campus when the gennin team arrived again, confident that Naruto would be around and was more capable of handling the team than he was.

He put all of that in the back of his mind as he headed towards his history class, so he wouldn't get completely distracted and have his mind wander again. He'd be spacing out a lot lately and he was considering going to the doctor to see if something was wrong.. He could just see explaining the situation to the doctor, though.

_"Well, I live in a haunted house where a ninja lord once lived. Oh, and I share the same name as the ninja's friend who had gone nuts and betrayed his village. And I apparently scared a little girl the other day because she was insulting the ghost and I thought she was going to kill him." _

He wouldn't be given drugs for sleep loss or something benign like that. They'd take him to the nearest psychiatric ward and runs tests of him for several days, if not weeks. He wouldn't see the light of day for a long time if he started spouting off that sort of nonsense. He would just let it go for now—something had to turn up to make sense.

A few of the kids in the class waved at him as he sat down, then they all turned their attention the professor who's topic for the day was the role of ninjas in the Fire Country's past. Sasuke resisted the urge to groan and bang his head. Some days were just meant to be a loss from the start. _At least if I get stuck on something weird or obscure in the class, I can always ask Naruto for help. _A small smile crossed his face for a moment. _I think he'd have fun correcting the professor. _With that thought in mind, he let his thoughts wander once again.

Naruto kept himself hidden when Sasuke left for school, but he observed him carefully, making sure that there was no sign that he was going to 'slip' again. It was painful enough seeing it last night, but he could only imagine the disaster if Sasuke managed to slip to his other persona at school, considering Naruto wasn't exactly sure how to predict what was going to happen next.

He met Shiba at the door when the gennin team arrived—at least an hour later than they had come previously. He raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry over the status of the scrolls. "Sasuke isn't here." He hastened to explain. "I thought it would be best to handle some stuff when he isn't around." He grimaced. "Especially with the effect your team and him have on each other."

Shiba rolled his eyes at that. "Yeah, well—some of them have a little more growing up to do than others." His team was in earshot and he gave Kia an especially pointed look to accompany the remark. "I suppose the problem with Sasuke was straightened out?"

Naruto nodded, eyes shifting away for a moment. "Yeah… for the moment." He didn't mind Shiba and his team so much… but it was weird and uncomfortable for them to be here and for him to interact with them. He had set himself apart from the shinobi world, from people and the way of life he knew for so long. He made promises, deals—and it was skirting close to the rules for him to have Shiba and his crew here. "I'll figure out the rest later."

Directing the gennin outside, Shiba lowered his voice for Naruto alone. "The scrolls are safe, Naruto. Hokage-sama has them in his office and he's waiting to see what develops here before distributing them to the Academy." His smile was gentle and almost knowing. "Hokage-sama understands, Naruto. Even if the rest of us are in the dark, always trust there is someone that understands what is going on."

The gennin team was well into their appointed task of the day—repairing the broken walls of the outer buildings—when Aki came up to him, his face more serious than usual. He flicked a brief glance towards the place his teammates were, then back up at Naruto. "My grandfather wishes to make an appointment with you, Naruto-sama." His voice was that even, precisely controlled voice that Naruto found went with all the Hyuuga clan. "He found it quite intriguing that you were here and wishes to speak with you again." Mouth quirking up briefly, Aki proved that a sense of humor wasn't entirely lost on the clan. At least he saw the twisted humor in the situation. "Something about catching up on old times and fixing problems that need repaired." His gaze remained on Naruto. "You do remember Hyuuga Neji, do you not?"

As Naruto stared at him in open-mouthed shock, Aki walked away. "I must get back to my tasks now, but please tell me before I live if you would like him here. I know that there are rules that bind you here and those that are permitted to visit." He looked over his shoulder as he left, lips still curved into that small, amused smile. "I am sure that he will be eager to see you as well, Naruto-sama."

With that Aki vanished around the corner, unaware of the havoc he created within Naruto's mind. The fact that Hyuuga Neji was still alive threw him—badly. It had been far too long since he had been alive and known the then-potential head for the Hyuuga clan. He wondered what was going through his mind to want to seek out Naruto—and what the overall purpose would be. _He has to be incredibly old at this point. _The image he had of Neji was a strong, competent fighter. Someone who advised him near the end—and one of the few people besides himself who almost-forgave Sasuke for his betrayal against the village.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. It was sure to be an interesting visit, either way.


	5. It's Okay to Cry

Skeletons In the Closet

Chapter Five

By: Lazuli

PG-13

Don't own Naruto. If I did, there would be considerable more Sasuke torture and more Yondaime time. No real warnings. Eh… I thought there'd be more spoilerage in this chapter, but old Neji got away from me.

The first thing that came to Naruto's mind when he saw Neji was that he was _old._ It had been a long time since he'd seen Neji, and while he knew the passage of time would affect his comrade—it was still a shock to see him like that. His hair was now the same shade as his eyes and he moved a little slower, but it was clear that it was the same Neji in the older body.

"You haven't changed, Naruto." Neji murmured as he sat across from Naruto. "There were rumors, speculation—but even I did not expect that you would still be here at this place." He observed Naruto carefully. "Why stay in a place that was belonged to _him?_" Neji didn't bother to hide his dislike of Sasuke—even though he somewhat forgave the Uchiha for what happened, he never really liked him as a person.

Naruto scowled at that. "I didn't exactly choose this place as my final … whatever." He muttered. "Two factors made it happen—one was the fact that I made a promise to Sasuke before he died—and the second…" He grimaced and shrugged. "It happened to be the place that was far enough away from town that if Kyuubi got out of control when I performed that final jutsu, nobody would be hurt." He paused and gave Neji a weird look. "You're taking this awfully calmly."

Neji smirked. "Seeing you as a ghost only amuses me, Naruto—it doesn't really bother me. It would only figure that you'd end up as a noisy brat for eternity." He calmly folded his hands in front of him, gaze serious once more. "I am not just here because you like hanging around long past your time, Naruto—I am here because of what Aki has told me of this…new Sasuke."

Naruto immediately looked away. "It isn't anything anyone needs to worry about." He said quickly. "I've got it all under control." Hands clenched into fists as he steadily avoided Neji's gaze. Ghost or not, he was certain that Neji could still see in him to tell what he was thinking.

Neji snorted at that. "I'm older than you, Naruto—I have seen more—and from what Aki has reported to me, this is something entirely different from what either of us has experienced. People who have been reborn are not supposed to recall their past." He frowned deeply. "That boy should not be here. We do not need a repeat of what happened to Konoha before if he decides to snap completely." The smirk appeared again. "I am not strong enough anymore and while our current students are strong—"

Naruto interrupted him. "He doesn't have any charka." He said softly. "Nor any shinobi abilities. He doesn't care for that way of life and he doesn't understand it." He looked up again, eyes sad. "I already looked—I already asked. I wanted to make sure as well. This isn't the old Sasuke, Neji. This is someone new—someone who got a second chance at life without the fucked up past to change his direction."

Brows rising, Neji examined Naruto more closely. "What all binds you here, Naruto? Haven't you paid your debt yet?" He looked doubtful. "There should be nothing holding you here—"

"You don't know!" Naruto snapped, 'standing up' and glaring at Neji. "You don't know the promises made, the jutsus performed. There is more in this world than just what your eyes tell you, Neji." He shook his head fiercely. "I don't know why you came here." He said bitterly. "To rub the past in my face again? To tell me of my mistakes? I already go over that everyday."

Neji didn't react during Naruto's tirade—he just gazed at him with that same calm that infuriated Naruto when he first knew him. "I came to see what is making him react in such a way, Naruto. I may not be able to help in regards to fixing the problem, but perhaps I can see more than you."

"You can try." Naruto muttered. "Look—I don't want you acting all weird around him. He… he had a few moments where he was…just a little different, you know?" He stared at the tops of his sandals as he went on. "I don't want him to remember, Neji. It's not fair to him to recall anything from that life. He…"

"He deserves to remember." Neji said harshly. "For all that he did—for all that he put our shinobi through—he does not just get to forget what he did." He ignored the way Naruto was glowering at him. "No one gets a free ticket to another life, Naruto—not without paying a price for their previous sins."

"He was hurt enough!" Naruto shouted. "He paid enough of a price during that life—why should he have to relive in again? Somebody up there obviously thought that he went through enough shit where he doesn't need to have a repeat!" Pointing a finger at Neji, he almost crackled with power. "Don't try and purposely hurt him, Neji. I have absolute power of this estate and I can make sure you never get near him."

"You are still too impulsive, Naruto—you would thank that eighty years might have changed something within that empty head of yours…" He shook his head sadly at the consistency of Naruto's ways. "I am not going to do anything to him—I am just warning you so that you may be prepared to deal with the side effects of Sasuke regaining memories of a long buried past life." He paused momentarily to cough. "I say this as a friend to you, Naruto. It will most likely be painful on both ends."

Naruto sneered. "You mean like Sasuke trying to kill me again? Call me names or betray me?" He asked mockingly. "That's the benefit of being dead, Neji. There isn't much to hurt anymore."

Neji rolled his eyes. "You pretend to not care, Naruto—but even without using my Byakugan, I can still see what makes you tick." His eyes moved over Naruto's ghostly form. "It helps that you were always…transparent when it came to certain people." He was about to say more when Sasuke walked in the door. He could barely contain his shock as he took in his appearance. Since he couldn't voice the reason for his annoyance aloud, he settled for glaring at Naruto and hoping he'd get the hint.

Naruto just gave him a pleasant smile, all traces of sadness, bitterness or anger gone from his face. In short—he had his masks back up. "Neji—I would like you to meet Sensu Sasuke, the current owner of the Uchiha estates." He turned to Sasuke. "This is Hyuuga Neji, grandfather to Aki and my one time comrade."

Sasuke blinked in surprise, and then a warm smile crossed his face. Neji was glad that he lived long enough where he could hide his surprise at Sasuke…even if it wasn't the same Sasuke.. showing a genuine emotion that wasn't superior. "If you're one of Naruto's comrades—" he paused and he took in the hitai-ate that Neji still wore. "You knew him a long time ago." It was the most tactful way he could say that Neji was _old._ "I'm sure he's happy to see you here."

Neji smiled politely back at him. "Yes…I've known of Naruto since was young, and once he graduated from the academy, we became comrades." His eyes flicked from Sasuke to Naruto. "We worked on several missions together." He didn't mention the last mission they worked on together involved Sasuke—he had a feeling that Naruto would try to kill him for being so direct, and so he would satisfy himself with this little nudges. Plus, the more he interacted with him, the better he could read him.

Sasuke nodded absently, he wasn't really interested in hearing anything about the ninja missions at the moment, It was nice that Naruto got to talk to someone he could relate to, because he had the feeling that sometimes the ghost got frustrated with his lack of interest in what Naruto spent his whole life working on. Plus the creepy blank eyes of the Hyuuga clan were even more unnerving on this seemingly frail old man. He wasn't sure why…

Neji 'saw' bits of Sasuke inside, pieces that were not entirely meshed together. He kept his expression schooled, but the psyche of the young man wasn't normal and as he stepped closer to Naruto, those bits fluctuated and flared—

"Naruto—is the gennin team going to be back later or tomorrow?" Sasuke had a faint, embarrassed flush on his cheeks. "I want to apologize for the other day." He was talking as he moved around the fridge, voice muffled. "I didn't mean to scare Kia like that. I forgot she was just a kid."

"She is a ninja, Sasuke." Naruto shrugged it off. "While I admit that it probably wasn't the best thing to do—since you managed to put a hole through an already unstable floor—she needs to get used to be intimidated." He smirked. "Although I can't believe she was scared by some _kid_ that can't even throw a kunai properly."

Neji watched Sasuke's eyes darken momentarily before a familiar smirk crossed his features. "At least if I tried to catch her, she wouldn't tumble through my arms because I was insubstantial." He mocked. Neji refrained from rolling his eyes. It was like they were both twelve again. _And no matter what, they still find ways to insult each other. It doesn't matter that one is a ghost and the other doesn't remember his past. I think they were created to annoy each other. _As an insult managed to include his own abilities, he groaned.. _And everyone around them. I'm too old for this._

"Children…" He said dryly. He ignored the dirty looks tossed at him from both directions. The 'past' bits of Sasuke were crowding over the current personality. _It's a wonder he doesn't have screaming headaches all the time._ "Sasuke? Would you like to sit down and share a cup of tea?" He looked over at Naruto. "Since I do hate to drink alone and Naruto here is hardly mature company." He did so enjoy being old at this point. "You seem to be very polite."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. "I've been around longer than him." He muttered rebelliously. "Not all of us have to look like we're falling apart to be 'full of wisdom and maturity', you know." He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "And you don't even known what he's like" He protested.

Neji gave Naruto a _look._ "That's why I'd like to get to know him, Naruto." He voice was nothing but pleasant. "At least he doesn't act like he's ten years old—" His tone conveyed his amusement easily.

Sasuke smirked at Naruto and continued where Neji left off "At least people respect age, Naruto—not some loudmouth doing an impression of a window." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I would like to get to know you, Hyuuga-san, but I have a paper that I have to write." He bowed slightly and then smirked again at Naruto. "At least I don't have to warn you what an idiot Naruto can be."

Neji nodded, eyes following Sasuke as he moved towards the back rooms. "I am well acquainted with his personality." He gave a nod towards the boy. "Perhaps we can talk again later and exchange stories about him." He shook his head, giving the impression of great patience. "I commend you for staying here, Sensu-san. You must be very strong to put up with Naruto all the time."

"You're like a couple of girls." Naruto muttered. "Wanting to gossip about some guys." He rolled his eyes and shooed Sasuke towards his room. "Go get that work of yours done." He insisted. "Can't have you blaming me if you fail your stupid classes." He smirked faintly. "And if you need help with your history…." He tilted his head. "I can help, I'm sure."

Sasuke looked surprised at the offer, then nodded curtly. "I'll hold you to that." He paused for a moment, and smirked. "At least you can be knowledgeable about something." With one more faint nod at Neji, he vanished down the hallway. Both Neji and Naruto waited until he was out of earshot before Neji turned to glare at him.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me that he looked like him?" He hissed out. "I'm old, Naruto. Did you want to kill me off with a heart attack?" He smoothed out invisible wrinkles in his shirt. "Now I see more of the problem. Aki never knew what Sasuke looked like—I certainly don't have any pictures… but… " He frowned deeply. "This causes a bit more problems than I originally anticipated."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Just because of the resemblance?" He scoffed. "People look like other people all the time. It doesn't mean a thing." He gave Neji a disgusted look. "I had a superficial resemblance to the Yondaime, and you didn't see people treating me with anymore respect because of it." Tilting his head to the side, he observed Neji, eyes serious in a way that few people knew he could be capable of. "You saw with those freaky eyes of yours, don't you?" His tone was serious, but it was ruined by the way Naruto wiggled his fingers to indicate the 'creepy' part. _So much for Naruto's mature act._

Neji nodded, ignoring the way Naruto was acting. "Yes, Naruto—and it's rather serious. There is basically one part to Sasuke—but bits are splitting apart and forming the basic structure for what you knew Sasuke as." His gaze was direct and his words to the point. "There are two distinct personalities—souls—almost forming within Sasuke. He is going to experience some very negative side effects soon—if he hasn't already." He sighed and knew he had to impart the last piece of information he gathered from observing Sasuke. "It gets worse around you, Naruto—as if the 'other' Sasuke wants to appear because of your presence."

If Naruto wasn't a ghost, he would have blanched at that. Two emotions warred within him—one the desire to have his friend back, and the other to make sure that he never appeared. There were too many things unsaid—too many promises broken and hurts that never quite healed. He was trying to make up for his mistakes through _this_ Sasuke. The past didn't have to come into it… did it? But… if Neji was right, then he would never be able to separate the two, not if he wanted to make up for past mistakes.

"So you're saying that I can never … fix things?" Naruto asked slowly. "Not without risking Sasuke going nuts again?" He sighed. "At least he doesn't have the power to do any damage this time." He muttered.

Neji paused at that. "I cannot be sure that he wouldn't have the power if he regained parts of himself. Memories and power are connected, Naruto. You know that if he displays any soft of … awakening…he will most likely be hunted down again. He took in the look on Naruto's face and continued with a sigh.

"I'm saying it's already been started—that was probably part of the reason why he was drawn here." A slow smirk. "You can say that it was his fate… his destiny to come back here. If he leaves, he may still have flashbacks or moments where he slips into his other persona. You just… hurry the process along." He sighed. "He may be wanting to reach you as much as you want to reach him, Naruto."

Naruto growled. "Then why all the 'ooh, this is bad' shit?" He demanded. "It's going to happen or not going to happen. It's his own will to come here, not any of that fate nonsense of yours. I told you I never believed in that. I defied my own fate, didn't I?" He glared at Neji. "Don't give me that shit that Sasuke is going to fall apart because he was 'destined' to come back here." His voice cracked a little. "Don't you dare tell me that it's fate that I fuck up his life again."

Neji frowned. "You are only going to make it worse by denying the truth, Naruto." He levered himself up. "Think on it. I must be getting back—I still have matters to attend to at home." Naruto followed him to the edges of the estate, eyes speaking volumes for the words he wouldn't say. "If you need my help again, Naruto—you know how to reach me."

"Tch. Like I'd ever ask for you help." Naruto muttered as he let Neji through the barrier. He had given Naruto a lot to think about—almost too much to think about. "We'll see." He finally said. Neji simply nodded, a small smile on his face.

"For all the pain that it may cause, Naruto—I am glad for you that you have Sasuke back here. He was your only real friend, was he not?" He gave a regretful shrug. "None of us really understood you. I am sorry for that."

Naruto waved it off. "I was used to it—and hell—it's been a long time." He muttered. "These things… they don't matter after awhile." He said softly. "But thank you, Neji. It means a lot to hear you say that." His eyes flicked towards the main house. "I just hope that I can divert the more painful memories that Sasuke might have."

Neji didn't comment on that, just simply raised an eyebrow. "Best of luck, Naruto." He vanished into the crowds of Konohagakure, leaving Naruto alone with Sasuke… and all the problems that were rapidly developing because of it.

_Not like Sasuke didn't have enough mental problems in his past life. Now this has to occur? Sometimes I wonder who he pissed off to have these types of issues._

Sasuke flopped down on his bed, mind going over the weird conversation that Naruto had with that old man before he came up. He knew Naruto sensed him before he came up and stopped talking before Sasuke could hear anything. Or he did something weird—or something. He growled to himself, not liking the secrecy again. _It has to do with how I weird I was yesterday._ He thought. _Naruto was just…and everyone looked at me like I went completely insane. I'm not sure if I hadn't gone insane myself. Threatening some little girl because she insulted Naruto? _

He wanted to apologize—he needed to apologize and didn't want to wait until they came back. Giving his homework a look, he decided that this was more important than any class assignment. _Plus, I bet I can find something out if I ask the right questions. _Decision made, he hurried out of the house, searching for Naruto so he could get into town. _That old man seemed friendly enough…_He felt like he could trust the answers that he asked from him.

He found Naruto in the empty storage room in the main house, staring out the window. He looked lost in the past and Sasuke hesitated to interrupt him from his thoughts. He was already unsure of how to deal with Naruto at the moment—something felt off-balance and shaky ever since the incident the other day. "Naruto?" His voice barely carried to the ghost, but Naruto turned around immediately, his face cheerful.

"You need help already?" He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Never thought I'd see the day where someone would ask me for help with schoolwork." His eyes were amused. "Of course, I'm pretty good at remembering the life I lived, which is technically history…"

Sasuke shook his head, smiling faintly. "I don't need your help yet, Naruto. I wanted to go into town to find Kia and the rest of the team to apologize properly." Shrugging lightly, he felt the need to explain. "I sometimes… lose it like that." He said softly. "Ever since I was younger, I'd…break like that, but I haven't had one of those spells for a long time. My parents gave me medication when I was younger, but…" His eyes met Naruto's, who looked a little shocked. "Well.. I just want to make amends." He finished quickly.

Naruto nodded quickly, preceding Sasuke out the door. "So it's a childhood problem?" He murmured. "You've…gotten angry before?" He questioned carefully. Sasuke frowned and shook his head at that. There was a lot more to it than just snapping and scaring random people, but it wasn't something he was prepared to give Naruto all the details, or anyone for that matter.

"Not really angry-I…just sort of blank out and find myself doing something I wouldn't normally. Split personality or some weird thing like that." He managed a grin. "So you have a nutcase for a roommate. If this place wasn't weird enough with ghosts, you have someone who becomes someone else for minutes at a time."

Naruto snorted. "You are a weirdo." He muttered as he opened the 'door' to Konoha. "It's your fault that you're living here with a ghost instead of some cushy place in town." Sasuke caught the look of wistfulness on Naruto's face as he gazed upon his old home, a place that he couldn't return to---couldn't even step in for reasons Sasuke didn't know—yet.

"Hey…" He didn't quite look at Naruto. "If you want… I can go around your old haunts or something and … hell, I don't know." He shrugged, not sure what he was offering or how to explain it. "Maybe bring you something back… or…" He knew it wasn't the same, but it was all he could offer Naruto. Eighty years was a long time to be alone. After spending so much time with the ghost, he knew that he craved company—and it wasn't his own choice that he didn't have any.

Naruto's eyes lit up at that and his grin was more heartfelt this time. "Um… see my old apartment….and .. " He paused, thinking about it. "Mm… and…go to Ichiraku if it's still around! They used to serve the best ramen there. You have to try it, Sasuke. Honestly. If there is nothing else you experience in Konoha, the ramen is a must."

Sasuke looked at him in bewilderment. Out of all the things that Naruto wanted him to see in Konoha—he wanted Sasuke to got to a _ramen_ stand? He didn't even like ramen a great deal and was about to ask if Naruto was sure, when his mind went back to an earlier conversation they had.

_"And my favorite food—" Naruto grinned. "It was ramen! Cup of ramen or the ramen at Ichiraku. Iruka-sensei would take me sometimes and it was such a cool thing!" His eyes lit up. "You'll have to tell the kids at the academy that. Maybe business will go up at Ichiraku because the famed Rokudaime ate there!" He stuck a pose._

_ "Idiot." Sasuke shook his head. "You can't make someone like something like… ramen… just because _you_ ate it." He smirked. "More likely than not they'll go.. "The Rokudaime liked _ramen_? We always knew there was something weird about him…" He couldn't help teasing the blond ghost._

_ Naruto scowled at him and tried to swat at Sasuke, who just laughed and darted away. "You can't get me!" He taunted. A wave of energy swept him off his feet and he looked up to see Naruto smirking at him. "There are other ways to floor an enemy…"_

Sasuke felt a smile cross his face. "Sure, Naruto—I'll go try some of this Ichiraku ramen for you." Naruto grinned back at him, but the wistful look was back in his eyes as they traveled over the expanse of the town. Sasuke wanted to ask why he couldn't move past the boundary of the estate, wanted to ask why he chose an empty building to be bound to—there were so many questions. But—he couldn't ask them of Naruto. "Maybe I'll even bring back a souvenir for you." He winked.

Naruto rolled his eyes and used his energy to shove Sasuke off the property. "I can't keep this open forever." He growled, but a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Go get stuff done there." Sasuke snorted and waved his comments off, before he turned down a side street. Naruto set up the barrier again, and then slumped to the ground. He wondered at the wisdom of sending Sasuke off into Konoha, when Neji's warnings still rang in his head—but… _You can't stop a snowball from gaining speeds as it rolls down a hill. I guess this is much of the same thing._

The only thing now would to see what type of damage the snowball would inflict once it hit the bottom.

Sasuke found himself blindly wandering around the town, listening to the cheerful conversations going around him, barely taking note of the ninja walking around the streets, their presence already normal and calming to him.

This was the type of town he dreamt about when he was younger—the crazy structures and all. The way people moved together—the way it just _was._ And he wasn't a part of it. He lived on the fringes, he observed, but was never truly part of it. _That's how Naruto must've felt!_ He thought in sudden realization. _He mentioned that…that he could be a part of it, but not a part of it…_

He didn't know where Naruto's old apartment was, so he just let the crowd push him along, looks directed toward his way, the more bewildered ones coming from the older people. _The old guy—Neji—didn't look at me like that._ He huffed silent. _What's with people here? _

He eventually came across a small stand—a few customers sitting at the stools and lanterns hanging on the sides. The awning in front had "Ichiraku" spelling out on the cloth, and Sasuke smirked lightly as he saw it. _So this is Naruto's famous ramen stand._

He really didn't like ramen—but he did tell Naruto he'd try this place for him. _Although it wouldn't be the same._ He thought to himself as he took a seat on one of the empty stools, looking up at the menu. His eyes widened at one of the choices. _The Rokudaime?_ He snickered slightly. _Wouldn't Naruto love to know that a miso ramen dish was named after him? I guess he's not so forgotten here…_

The man behind the counter smile at Sasuke and where his gaze went. "Our family has kept this place for generations." He pointed to the menu. "The Rokudaime came here all the time as a kid and that was his favorite meal. You should try it." He winked.

Sasuke blinked and then gave a slow nod. He tried to imagine Naruto as a kid, sitting on this counter—_loud and obnoxious—_It was somehow very easy to picture it, and suddenly the meal seemed very appropriate. He was just about to take a bite when a voice stopped him. "You!" It cried out. "What are you doing in our town?" Sasuke gave a mental groan. That high-pitched, whiney voice…

"Kia…" He turned around with a faint smile on his face, trying to hide the grimace. He wanted to apologize for what he did, but looking at the prissy way she held herself, the sneer on her lips and the anger in her eyes, it was easy to forget what he wanted to apologize for.

He reined in his temper and tried to display the good manners he was raised with. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday." He got out. "I was not myself and I put your and your teammates in danger. Let me make it up to you." The words didn't sound as stiff as he feared, there was an actual note of sincerity in his voice.

She gave him a suspicious look, eyes flicking over to her silent teammates. Aki watched him the most intensely, and Sasuke was uncomfortably reminded of the earlier encounter with his grandfather Neji. He gestured to the empty stools next to him. "I'll buy you dinner." He kept that same polite smile on his face. Mika grinned and jumped onto one of the stools.

"Man, you have a deal!" He grinned. He seemed largely unaffected by his ordeal the other day, even if he got the brunt of it by the fall. "I don't know about Kia or Aki—but I wouldn't mind a bowl of ramen." He gave the owner a cheerful grin. "One seafood ramen!  
He ordered.

Kia gave a delicate sniff and sat on the other side of Mika as Aki took a seat as well. A few bowls of ramen later, Sasuke felt considerably more comfortable as the group chattered around him. They were talking about their first 'training session' with Shiba.

"And Kia was the one that got tied to the log!" Mika snickered. "Everyone pegged me for getting tied there—" He laughed against, nearly choking on the remaining broth in the bowl. "She was so pissed at being tied to the log while we ate lunch next to her."

Kia flipped her hair over her shoulders. "At least Aki was a gentleman and offered me his food first." She smirked at him. "You were only copying him." Her nose wrinkled. "Not that I would have wanted your food, anyways—but…"

"It got us to pass Shiba-sensei's test, didn't it?" Mika pouted and looked over at Aki. "We're a team now…" He gave a small laugh at Sasuke's almost far away expression. "Ha! Looks like your zoning out with all our ninja talk." He jumped off the stool. "Thank for the meal and no hard feelings, okay?"

Sasuke nodded. He rather liked this Mika. He was cheerful and reminded him rather forcibly of Naruto in a lot of ways. Kia and Aki gave their thanks as well, more subdued than Mika's but still sincere.

Sasuke thumped his head on the table once all of them were gone and paid the unexpected bill. He was getting one of his headaches again, and he didn't know if it was the close proximity of so many people, dealing with the gennin team, or eating ramen—but a walk would hopefully clear his head.

He found himself on the edge of a clearing, a marble block gracing one part of it, and three stumps gracing another part. In the distance he could hear the sound of birds settling down for the night in the nearby forest. It was calm and peaceful here, and he felt the headache he'd be sporting dissipating as he walked along the edge of a swiftly-flowing river.

He walked slowly around the area, a small smile on his face. This must be the place that Mika talked about—a training area. He let his hands ghost over the wood, and he wondered how many people over the years went through the same test—he wondered who started it, who saw the wisdom in what it meant to really be a team.

He moved next to the marble stone, noticing the stick of incense and the names carved into the smooth black marble. His eyes moved over the names, a few standing out. 'Uchiha Obito…' He wondered if he had been one of the ones killed in the massacre. A few other names stood out, but then he saw Naruto's. "Uzumaki Naruto.'

_"That's it! I just made up my mind! That's where I want my name to go! I'm not going to throw my life away! I'm going to be a hero!"_

Sasuke blinked the echo of the words away. "You got your wish, Naruto." He said softly. "I'm sure you didn't throw your life away—and your name still got carved here." His let his hands rest on the name.

He was about to get up and walk away when voice stopped him. "Sa… Sasuke-kun?"


	6. Darkness Reveals

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Six

By: Lazuli

PG-13

Disclaimers: By now, you will have all figured out that Naruto does not belong to me. Honestly…

No real warnings here—maybe slight spoilers but nothing really overt. No real pairings as of yet, but it's getting closer, I'm sure. Enjoy!

"Sasuke-kun?" The voice asked again, more tentatively now. "I…" He turned around to see an older woman facing him, hair hanging halfway done her back and her arms full of flowers. Her hands flew up to her mouth when she took in his full appearance, the flowers tumbling all around her. "You… it can't really be…" She whispered. "He died…"

As he bent down to help her pick up the flowers, he meet her aquamarine eyes. There was something about them…He placed the remaining flowers in her hands and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "My name is Sensu Sasuke, but I just moved here not too long ago."

Pink hair fell into her face and she shook her head, eyes filling with tears. "You.. you're him—I know you're him!" Her lips trembled. "I don't understand.. " Her gaze took in the grave marker and then flicked back to him. "You mentioned Naruto's name." She seemed determined about something, needing to prove something to him. "How would a perfect stranger know to mention Naruto's name?" She asked reasonably, arranging the flowers in front of the marker.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pointed to the names. "I was reading those." He arched an eyebrow. "So I picked a few random ones." He knelt beside her. "Why isn't Uchiha Sasuke inscribed on here?"

"You ARE him!" She latched on to his arm, instead of answering his question, tears spilling over her cheeks now. "You're a ghost or something… but.. you're here again." Her head bowed over his arm. "I didn't think that I'd ever see you again, Sasuke-kun…"

He was starting to get a little nervous and he gently pried her arm away. He didn't know how old she really was, but it was a little disturbing to have some strange woman clinging to him like he was some long-lost lover. "I am not who you think I am." He said firmly. "Why do you think I'm some other Sasuke, anyways?" His heart started to beat quicker. _Answers! _He thought gleefully. _I'll finally have some explanations! _"And who are you, anyways?"

She pulled away from him in shock, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "I guess I've changed a lot…" She whispered, staring down at the ground. "And… well… this isn't how I really look right now, but…" She gave a faint smile. "The Godaime taught me this jutsu and I happen to like it…I finally get to put it to good use." She stood up, and bowed a little more formally, even when another tear streaked down her face. "I'm Haruno Sakura." She continued to watch him with those intense eyes as if waiting for his reaction.

He just gave her a blank look for a moment, before something kicked in. "Sakura! You were on a team with Naruto!" He shook his head. "Man, wouldn't he love to hear you're still around." His lips kicked into a real smile. "I think he'd like talking to you much more than he would Neji…"

Her mouth dropped open and anger started to fill those eyes. "How can you talk about Naruto like he's still alive?" She hissed out. "Maybe you aren't Sasuke—because Sasuke would know what it meant to have a name inscribed here." She pointed at the marble monument. "Do you know what it means?"

He held his hands up in self defense. "Yeah, I know what it means." He muttered. "That's why I wanted to know why the Uchiha's name wasn't on there. With the way Naruto talked about him, you would think he would be on there. Dying bravely and all that…"

Her eyes softened slightly. "He died protecting Naruto." She said quietly. "But he was no longer a recognized citizen of Konoha by that point." Moving over to one of the stumps, she leaned against the wood, watching Sasuke. "I'm sorry for mistaking you for Sasuke-kun. It's just that… you look so much alike.." Her voice trailed off as the rest of the words sunk in. "Talk about him…I'm getting sick and tired of that stupid rumor! Naruto is dead, Sasuke is dead." She flared. "They were my teammates, and I'm going to accept people talking about them as if… as if.."

"As if one were a ghost and … existing at the Uchiha estate?" He asked dryly. "It's not a rumor, I live there and Naruto's become one of my friends." He crossed his arms over his chest. "If you had investigated the so-called rumor, then you may have found him there." He rolled his eyes. "Some friend you are." He started to walk away.

"How dare you!" Her fist connected with the ground, causing a fissure to ripple across to where he was. "Just because you look like him, doesn't give you a reason to bad mouth me or him or what we went through."

He blinked in shock and he was forcibly reminded of the way he snapped the other day. He held out a hand to placate her. "Look—I'm not trying to lecture you or anything. I honestly live at the Uchiha estate and Naruto's been there for the last eighty-odd years. He talks about his teammates sometimes."

She paused, eyeing him as if she wasn't sure how to react to that. "I can't imagine Naruto sticking around." She said softly. "But I also never expected to see a Sasuke look alike at our old training grounds, either."

He made a face. "If you were Naruto's teammate… how old are you really?" Neji had looked incredibly old, and this Sakura-person had to be as old as him—but she didn't look that old. More like half the age that Neji looked. He heard some woman aged more gracefully than others, but that was just… weird.

She scowled at him and brushed off her dress. "That's not something you need to know. Never ask a lady her age." She clenched a fist and waved in threateningly. "And don't start making guesses or I'll hurt you."

Snickering at that, he simply shook his head. "If you were Naruto's teammate, I think I know—but I won't say anything." His gaze sharpened in on hers. "You said that I looked like this Sasuke that you knew?" He demanded. "I just knew I had the same name as him…."

She nodded and began walking back towards the town, gesturing for him to follow him. Now that she put it in her mind that he wasn't her old teammate, she was much more reserved. "You look remarkably similar, Sensu-san. I truly thought I was seeing a ghost when I came across you in the old training grounds." Her smile still had a touch of pain in it. "Do you think it's silly of me to still look for my old friends, even when I know they're long gone?"

"I don't think that at all, Haruno-san." He felt a type simple affection for her through his association with Naruto. At the thought of the blond, his lips quirked up in a brief, amused smile. _I teased him about bringing back a souvenir—it probably wasn't quite what he had in mind._

"Sensu-san…" He was brought back to the immediate moment by Sakura's voice. "Would you like to see a picture of Naruto when he was younger?" His eyes were amused. "If you know him now—" Her voice still showed traces of doubt—"Then I'm sure you'd be amused to see what he looked like when he was twelve." She paused and looked away for a moment. "It's the only picture I have of Sasuke, too…"

He nodded, but didn't want to seem so eager. _I look like Uchiha Sasuke? Naruto never said a thing, but it makes sense now why he hid the picture from me…_He gave Sakura another smile. "I'd really like that, Haruno-san."

He looked around the simple house, eyes taking in the details of it. There were pictures on the walls, boxes and other items stacked on shelves. It was clear that she lived alone—although it hadn't always been that way.

"Make yourself comfortable." Sakura called from another part of the house. "It'll take me a moment to find my old team picture." He gave a murmur of assent as he looked at the other pictures on the wall. Sakura—younger—with a group of friends, posing proudly in what looked like a new uniform. A picture of a weird looking guy with the most insane eyebrows he'd ever seen with his arm around Sakura's shoulders…

"That is a picture of my husband and I when we first starting dating." Sakura's voice startled him. He turned around to see her with a picture frame in her hands. "I think you'll see what I mean with the resemblance."

She placed the frame in his hands, and stood back, watching him and gauging his reaction. His eyes immediately went to the center of the photograph, where a gray-haired man stood smiling, hands resting on two heads. Sakura – a much younger one here—was directly in front of him, smiling. Naruto…his lips kicked into a grin as she saw what Sakura meant about seeing Naruto as a twelve-year old. He was scowling, arms crossed over his chest and he was wearing a hideous orange outfit. The last person….

He nearly dropped the picture as he stared with wide eyes. The Sasuke in the picture could have easily been him at twelve years old. The same dark hair—although he never wore it spiked out like that—the same expression on his face. It was eerie and he gave the picture back to Sakura slowly and met her eyes. "I think we need to have a talk with Naruto."

* * *

Sakura moved slowly as they came up to the Uchiha estate, her eyes starting to fill with tears again. "I haven't been here in years." She whispered, head bowed. "Not since…" She cleared her throat. "Not since Naruto died."

He wasn't sure what to say to that, but he guided her to the front entrance, treating her like he would a member of his family. "Well, Naruto'll probably have a lot to say when he sees you." He muttered. _And I've got a lot to ask him! I can understand a little why he didn't tell me, but now I understand all those weird looks._

"You bet I'd have tons to say." Naruto suddenly appeared in front of them, looking torn between frustrated and amused. "When I asked for you to experience stuff form my old life, I didn't expect you to bring back one of my old teammates." He gave Sakura a cheeky grin, who was staring open mouthed at him. "Nice to see you employing Tsunade-baba's techniques."

"You… Naruto… I…" She gave him a dirty look, fist raising as if to punch him. "What the hell are you still doing around, you idiot!" She looked ready to cry and started to lean against Naruto, but she only went through him. He was watching her with a sad expression. She managed a small smile. "It's like Team 7 is together again… only considerably changed."

"Not really." He muttered. "Two of us are here at least." His eyes brightened, and it was clear to see how happy he was at having Sakura here. More so than Neji for certain. "It's good to see you again, Sakura-chan." He looked between her and Sasuke and he suddenly groaned. "Don't tell me you mistook Sasuke for…" Out of all the people to run into—and for to be alive…it had to be Sakura. Neji he could trust to be discreet. Sakura'd blurt it out immediately.

Sasuke suddenly frowned at Naruto. "Yeah—she did." He wasn't precisely angry, but still vaguely annoyed. "You never told me, Naruto… that I looked like your friend." His eyes softened as he took in the ghost's crestfallen expression. "Did you think I would take it the wrong way or something?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head, praying for some type of solution for this mess. "It just… wasn't that important." He said lamely. "I didn't want to get mixed up in my own head, so I automatically separated the two of you." It was a weak excuse and Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto tried to continue. "Looks aren't everything, you know…"

Sakura snorted as she made herself comfortable. "You're so full of it, Naruto." She said bluntly. "You're just scared to tell this Sasuke about what happened in the past. It's not like he's going to hold it against you or something." Her arms crossed over her chest. "Maybe he's here for a reason."

_Thank you, Sakura-chan. _Naruto thought bitterly. _Go right head, don't hold back. Speak in front of him like he doesn't exist, let's risk him going batty and making him think about stuff that doesn't concern him._ "That's not true." He growled out. "He's not the same person and I'm not going to make it seem like he is."

"Naruto—" Sasuke spoke up, shaking his head briefly. "I know that I'm not your friend from before—I just …I just wish that you had told me. People have been giving me strange looks all this time and I had no idea what was going on." He grimaced. "No wonder people kept watching me. I look like this other Sasuke."

_There's a whole lot more to it than that, and I hope Sakura didn't do much more than say he looked like … well… himself. _Naruto grimaced. "Probably." He agreed easily. "Nice to know that's out in the open. Now I won't have to hide my pictures anymore, or worry about you sneaking around." His lips curved into an amused smile. "Nosy."

Sasuke smirked. "Hey, I had every right." He looked over at Sakura, who still seemed to be in a state of semi-shock. "He was hiding everything from me like some old man intent on hoarding treasure or something." He paused and then grinned. "Or like some kid with a stash of candy."

Sakura laughed aloud at that one, not bothering to hide her amusement. "With Naruto, it'd be boxes of ramen." She had an almost evil grin on her face. "Since this is just like old times…" Her eyes took in Sasuke and Naruto. "Sasuke…would you like hearing stories about how idiotic Naruto was when he was a kid?"

Sasuke grinned and ignored Naruto's annoyed protests. "Since you were on a team with him… I'm sure you know tons about him." He smirked at Naruto, highly amused by all this. He'd probably have a private conversation with Naruto later—but for now, it was nice to see him relaxed and happy—to give him back something he lost a long time ago.

"Well, for starters—" She grinned, getting into the role. It was so easy to imagine that they were all younger—well, Naruto looking the same age as he died, and this new Sasuke looking a little too much like the old Sasuke didn't help matters—and nothing changed. "He had a huge crush on me."

Naruto was glad that he couldn't blush, although he did huff and give an embarrassed snort. "There's nothing wrong with having a crush on the prettiest girl in Konoha." He protested. "And it wasn't that big of a crush." He mumbled, then he looked up at her with a smirk and turned the tables on her. "Although it was _nothing_ compared to your little fan girl obsession with Sasuke."

Sakura's cheeks turned red at that. "I…" She glanced at Sasuke, unnerved again. "Well.. he was just… you know… cool?" Her voice so sounded meek and she felt like she was a teenager again, flustered over being caught in her crush's presence.

"I never saw why…" Naruto rolled his eyes. "He was so stuck up then." He looked over at Sasuke, then at Sakura, winking slightly before taking on the image of the twelve year old Sasuke. He could have considerable more fun this way, poking fun at his old teammate without him even realizing it.

"I'm the great Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura nearly fell out of her chair as Naruto assumed the image and the personality. "I only have one thing on my mind." Running a hand through his hair, he looked down his nose at the two people in the room, even though he was only twelve. "Making sure everyone knows how great I am." Well, maybe that was laying it on a bit thick as Sakura attempted to scowl through her laughter.

"He wasn't that bad, Naruto!" She protested, although seeing the younger Sasuke sent a pang through her heart. How unknowing they all were than… "He just was very.. self assured." She tried to defend her long-gone teammate as Naruto broke the jutsu. "He cared for you, remember?"

She turned to Sasuke and gave him an earnest look. "No matter what you've heard about Sasuke, he was a good person." Her eyes warmed briefly. "He was very smart and…goal driven. He and Naruto were a lot alike."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, but a small smile was on his face. "We kept each other in line." He looked over at Sakura. "And Sakura made sure that we didn't beat each other into a bloody pulp. She was the most level-headed of our group at times."

"What do you mean at times?" She scoffed. "I was the only girl so of course I was the smarter of the two of you… males." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly—always an ego trip with the both of you. Exhausting yourselves just to be on top." She raised an eyebrow. "Remember that time you made yourselves sick so that you could train harder?"

"Which time?" Naruto laughed. Sasuke didn't look as if he felt excluded from the conversation and he winked at him and gave a fake whisper. "Sasuke ate so much at dinner during our first _real _mission that he got sick at the table." He shook his head in mock sympathy. "Mister Cool and Perfect couldn't hold his lunch…"

Sasuke scowled. "You got sick too, Naruto." She tilted her nose up. "I was the only one who knew how to do the tree climbing exercise perfectly the first time." She patted Sasuke's shoulder. "I hope Naruto's bad habits don't rub off on you during your stay here, Sasuke." Her lips tilted up briefly. "One version of Naruto is enough."

"You're so mean, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined briefly, sticking out his lower lip. "You don't see me for eighty years, and all you can do is insult me?" His eyes sparkled briefly. "But you said such nice things to me when you found out I was dead…"

Her mouth dropped open, outraged at that. "You were listening?" She demanded. "Why on earth were you listening to something…" Her cheeks turned red. "It wasn't like I confessed my undying love for you or anything." She muttered. "I was just… happy.. that you were with…"

He shook his head sharply at her. "Happy that I was dead?" He teased. "Yeah, I'm sure…" He couldn't help poking fun, to direct her away from the path she was traveling on. "You were just imagining Sasuke and me beating each other up in the afterlife, weren't you?"

Sasuke laughed at that. "What else was Naruto like growing up?" He was officially getting the dirt on Naruto and was going to use this chance to its utmost advantage. He didn't want to hear about Naruto's death—even though he _knew_ he was dead and it shouldn't bother him. He wanted to get an image of what made Naruto the way he was now. And embarrassing stories were too much fun to pass up.

"Well, he was the biggest loudmouth in the village." She said with a grin. "That probably hasn't changed too much—he was always shouting about how he was going to be better than everyone." She snorted and gave the sheepish looking ghost a look. "I wonder which of the two of you had a bigger ego problem." Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Hokage this, Hokage that—it was never ending and like a broken record."

Naruto puffed himself up. "Hey! I became the Rokudaime, remember?" He looked proud of himself. "So it wasn't just boasting. I wasn't dead last at the end."

Sakura nodded. "You weren't… we all came so much further than anyone really predicated for us… except…" Her eyes flicked towards Sasuke again, and she didn't continue her train of thought on that. "But you were still so annoying, Naruto! Always loud, obnoxious, full of yourself—always bothering Sasuke-kun"

"He was always such a jerk to me, of course I had to get back at him!" Naruto eyed her. "You were always falling all over him… you never noticed me. It pissed me off." He gave a faint smile. "I'm glad you found someone else after….after Sasuke left." He said softly.

She nodded quickly at that. "Lee passed away a few years ago." She shrugged it off, but her eyes were bright. "Did you ever think that I'd get together with him, Naruto? He had worse fashion sense than you!"

Naruto snorted. "Nobody could be as bad as Fuzzy-Eyebrows." He protested. "That spandex of his…" He gave a mock shudder. "Ero-sennin almost had a heart attack when I lost it one day and wanted to wear it." His eyes crinkled at the corners. "I think I did it just to annoy him."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You seemed to have pretty bad taste yourself, Naruto." He looked over at Sakura. "Did he seriously wear that orange.. thing… all the time?" He questioned, grinning at Naruto's surprised look. "She showed me your team picture." He explained.

She nodded and grinned at Sasuke. "He wore it until he went training with Jiraiya and the next time I saw him he was wearing something… at least a little different, even if it was still mostly orange." She rolled her eyes. "He was obsessed with that color. Thank god when he finally made chuunin status and wore something… better."

Naruto just laughed at that. Sasuke took the chance to look—really look—at Naruto and see how much _better_ he seemed. He wasn't sure if it was just Sakura's presence or the fact that the 'secret' was out of how he looked like Uchiha Sasuke. Whatever it was, it did Naruto a world of good. Sasuke was filled with a sudden determination to keep that real smile on Naruto's face.

Sakura stood at the doorway, a small smile on her face. "I'll try and visit more often, Naruto—but…" She shrugged and looked vaguely apologetic. "I'm really not as young as I used to be, and jutsu or not—time just runs out." She didn't look as if talking about her impending death really bothered her—after all, she was one of the few left besides Neji from their generation. She never expected to outlive Sasuke or Naruto—but here she was, the only one left out of their team.

Naruto nodded, eyes shadowed as he looked at the girl he once loved, his teammate and friend. "I know all too well, Sakura-chan." He gestured to himself, a sad smile on his face. "You just managed to beat the odds and live longer than either Sasuke or I."

"Naruto—that Sasuke…" Her green eyes were puzzled as she looked at him. "It feels like the old Sasuke…" Her pleading expression tore at his heart. "Just tell me if he's happier, Naruto. That's all he really deserves… is to be happier than he was before."

Naruto nodded quickly, not telling her what Neji warned him about, not revealing anything beyond that. "This Sasuke is happier, Sakura-chan." He murmured. "He doesn't have an older brother, he's never trained as a shinobi—there is nothing coloring his past that could drive him towards the end Uchiha Sasuke had."

She nodded quickly, one hand reaching out to caress the energy that made up Naruto's face. "Don't lock yourself away like you did growing up, Naruto. Don't give this Sasuke fake smiles. You both deserve more than that." With a final smile, she disappeared into the darkness. He wondered if he'd ever see her again.

* * *

Sasuke had trouble falling asleep that night, his mind filled with Sakura's stories of what Naruto was like growing up, how Uchiha Sasuke was, what they did as a team. Things that Naruto never revealed and for some reason, it felt oddly like betrayal. Neither of them really said anything about Sasuke past the age of twelve—neither of them alluded to what he did to betray Konoha and hurt Naruto so badly.

He knew now why Naruto had such a shocked look when he saw Sasuke, why he avoided talking about his old teammates or anything about his past. Why there were no pictures—or at least pictures that he could see. He had a feeling the blond would be more open now, but at the same time, there were too many things unsaid, too many new questions raised in the answering of the old ones.

He felt like part of their group as they talked, though—which made him smile when he thought about it. Neither Sakura or Naruto tried to treat him like their friend Sasuke, but they included him just the same, sharing stories and Sakura asking about his own life. It was weird when he thought about it—one was a woman almost a hundred years old, and the other a ghost. Yet—

He turned over in his bed again, shutting his eyes and trying to force sleep on himself. It had been a rather long day, with many surprises, and he felt his body finally start to give in. Within moments he was asleep.

The buildings loomed up around him, seeming oddly taller and distorted in the dark. The moon was barely visible through the scattered clouds and Sasuke hurried through the pathways of the estate, eager to get back home. He was tired and just wanted to rest. He wasn't really looking where he was going, and was startled when he tripped over something.

Getting to his knees and brushing the dirt off his clothes, his hands paused at the sudden stickiness he felt on his palms. He looked down and nearly gagged at the redness that was there, looking almost black in the night. His gaze flicked over to the thing he tripped on, and the scream lodged in his throat. There were.. .bodies there. He didn't know them… _Why hasn't Naruto … ? _Where his vague thoughts, but the other part of him wondered why Uzumaki Naruto would even be here. _He couldn't have done this…_

He practically ran to his house at that point, needing reassurance, something stable—something that made sense. He didn't … he couldn't have seen that. It wasn't possible… but he could still feel that sticky-cold on his palms, could see the bodies when he closed his eyes. His breath came in gulps now, and he stumbled over the threshold of his home in his haste to get in.

All was quiet here, but unfamiliar shapes loomed on all sides of him, confusing him more, He didn't remember so much in the way before, so much _stuff_ around and causing weird shadows to flicker down the hallway. He paused in front of the doors that led to the family room, his heart thumping rapidly in his chest from his run, from an unknown fear. Pushing the doors open cautiously, a figure waited for him,.

"Hello, little brother." The stranger stepped closer, dark eyes the mirror of Sasuke's own. "It's been a long time."


	7. Dreams Can Tell A lot

Skeletons in the Closet  
Chapter Seven  
By: Lazuli  
PG-13

Slight SasuxNaru (wow, have you guys been waiting long for this?) Um, slight spoilers for the Valley of the End fight, but I twisted it a bit to my own liking so it's not too horrifically spoilerific. Naruto still doesn't belong to me. Enjoy!

"Little.. brother?" Sasuke looked up at the man, confused at the way he was addressed. He didn't have an older brother—or any siblings for that matter. Who was …? He shook his head as if to clear it, to make things make sense again.

"You've forgotten…" The voice was amused and the figure stepped closer to him, eyes glinting with a private humor. "You're no longer an Uchiha…yet you come here and revisit the place—the people you had a hand in destroying." His lips curved into an amused smile. "I always knew you were a masochist, but this is just really too much…"

Sasuke scowled at him, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to look imposing—after all this stranger—I don't know him, I don't… was in his home, accusing him—any words he was about to say came out in a choked gasp as the man moved to the side, revealing what he had been hiding. Two bodies… familiar, you know who they are lay across the ground, hands stretched out towards him as if pleading, accusation written over their faces.

"You blamed me for the end of our clan—but your crime was far worse." Sasuke tore his gaze away from the bodies, a stunned expression settling in his eyes. "You were the last one left—and yet you chose to end it all—by throwing your life away for a demon that died soon after. All your efforts were wasted—you died for no reason at all." He stalked forward. "You ended the Uchiha name for no purpose—"

Sasuke shook his head fiercely, head clearing from the fog that had settled in it. "I didn't kill them!" His voice had a hysterical note in it. "I wasn't the one that killed the family for power!"

"No… I did that." His brother—Itachi—smirked at him. "You just tried to kill your only friend for the sake of power. You realized the true purpose of having someone close to you. Pity that you didn't succeed.. the Uchiha name might still be alive today—and revered instead of shunned."

Sasuke snarled at him, hands clenching into fists. "You are the reason why no one remembers the Uchiha clan, expect with disgust." He wanted to kill him—wanted to hurt him, wanted to end all of this—"You're the one who killed everyone, you're the one who's hatred reached out so far—you're the one…" His voice broke on the words as he fell to his knees, so close—oh so close to the bodies of the people he once knew…

"Who won in the end?" Itachi smirked. "And who is the one who lets nightmares torment him still, even when the past happened so long ago that it is only a dim memory in the minds of people?" His laugh was low and rolled across Sasuke's senses. He covered his ears with his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt like he was eight years old again, and his brother taunting him for being too weak to kill. To run away…

"That's right, little brother. You can always run—you can run from me, from your nightmares—from the truth." He smirked. "But it's a spiral—no matter how much you run—you'll always end back up at the center of it all."

Sasuke shook his head, tears building up in his eyes. "That's the past." He whispered. "I've gotten over it. I killed you." At the sudden realization, his head snapped up and his eyes blazed, focusing on his long-hated brother. "I killed you!" He shouted. "I avenged our family, I've made up for the past." His hands trembled as he moved forward, tackling Itachi. "You're just a nightmare! You're not real!"

Itachi's laughter echoed in his head as tangled his hands in the cloak he wore, and he sobbed as he repeated his words. "You're dead…you're dead…" His eyes were closed but his hands felt the texture of the clothing as it changed underneath him.

Opening startled eyes he saw Naruto, blood running down one side of his face, chest rising and falling in pained gasps. One of Sasuke's hands was through Naruto's chest and he choked again, ripping his hand out and staring in horror at the blood that covered his hands, the body of his friend laying on the ground in front of him, blue eyes vacant and glassy as they stared up at the cloud-filled sky.

* * *

Sasuke woke up abruptly, a scream choking off in his throat as his mind realized it was awake. His heart pounded erratically and he took several deep breaths to try and slow it down. That nightmare was too real. He felt sweat running down the back of his shirt and he grimaced at the stickiness of it. Not as sticky as…I think I'm going to be sick…He thought grimly. No more grisly stories about people being murdered in the place you live in.

The last part of the nightmare had to be the worst part—him with Naruto's blood all over his hands—him being the reason why Naruto died. He felt he bile rise in his throat and he barely made it into the bathroom in time. Rinsing out his mouth, he stared at the image in the bathroom mirror and didn't recognize his own image for a moment. He dreamt that he was Uchiha Sasuke—that much was certain. Having the older Uchiha address him as little brother…"Itachi…" He murmured. "Didn't Naruto mention something about Itachi before?" It sounded vaguely familiar, and he supposed he could just ask Naruto, but he held off on it. He wasn't sure if he could explain it.

The rest of the 'message' was weird. As if he knew that he was Sensu Sasuke—but still treated him as Uchiha Sasuke. He shrugged it off. Dreams were weird at the best of times, and with all that he had absorbed in the past few days, it was no wonder his mind filled in the gaps the way it did.

_Thinking I'm Uchiha Sasuke_. He scoffed. Naruto wouldn't like to hear that. That's why he never showed me those pictures in the first place, because this was something that would happen. He didn't think the ghost would have predicted those nightmares, but putting the idea in his head was bound to stir up trouble. And it would only hurt Naruto if he started acting that way. He resolved to keep it to himself, not aware of the presence watching him the entire time.

Naruto paced back and forth, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't ask any questions, wouldn't wonder. That he'd just put it off to weird dreams and leave it at that. He wasn't sure he could answer any questions about Itachi without giving something away, to talk about what occurred so long ago—to talk about what Sasuke experienced and was remembering all over again. These were the dreams that Neji had warned Naruto about—it wasn't just slips in behavior, weird déjà vu—it was something that could blow up into a more serious situation.

_And what are you going to do about it, Naruto? It's not like you can stop the dreams, it's not like you can send him away—you can only hope for the best. Didn't you want to apologize to him? Maybe you can eventually. Maybe he'll have a moment where he's so out of it that I can get an apology in._

He immediately felt guilty for wanting to wish more confusion on this Sasuke. Even if he had those 'moments' all of his life, he could tell this Sasuke was becoming increasingly unbalanced as to what he felt, what he dreamt about. As Neji said—pieces of him were pulling apart, reforming and trying to overshadow the new part of Sasuke. The part that got a second chance. He grimaced and wished that he was still alive and he could go to the Hokage and—

He nearly hit his head at his own stupidity. He was a previous Hokage—and even as a ghost, there were ways of finding out information that he normally wouldn't have access to. Going to a long unused portion of the apartment—one that even Sasuke hadn't been able to get into—he pulled out some of the old scrolls.

Well, he couldn't seal away anything—because there wasn't anything to really seal away—and he was a ghost and already in debt to the Shinigami. He could just try and suppress his memories—but suppressed memories usually cropped up in dreams and then he'd be right back where he started from. _Or I could just tell him the truth._ He dismissed that idea right off. There had to be another solution.

That was assuming that Sasuke was going to come forth with any questions. He'd stopped being so nosy that now that he'd gained a few answers, but he could read Sasuke too well—reincarnated soul or not. There were things that made up Sasuke that transcended time and rebirth and all that other weird shit.

He came here for a purpose, Neji said—that Naruto wasn't the only one who wanted to clear up mistakes that happened in the past. Not that he got that out of Sasuke—but Neji could read all sorts of things with his eyes and Naruto trusted him for it. They hadn't been the closest of people growing up, but in that last year—Neji had become an invaluable resource for information. He was the one who originally hinted at the idea of Naruto still being able to protect Konoha, even after he died—because of the Kyuubi.

And here he was—and he thanked whatever higher forces that was up there that Sasuke didn't remember any of his death. He had a feeling that would be the last straw. It was only natural for his mind to make the jump from learning about the Uchiha massacre, to remembering it, to put his own mind there when he found out he looked so much like Uchiha Sasuke.

He just wish it didn't hurt so much—all of his emotions frizzled on the surface now, unable to find an outlet. He couldn't explain, couldn't tell Sasuke so many things. And it didn't exactly help having Sakura there. He could feel the bond between the three of them—even if it was fractured and distorted by time and death. The way she looked—it brought back so many memories, good and bad. He was happy that he got to see her again—he had been surprised that she was still alive at all. The old hag must have taught her some interesting tricks. He thought over her appearance for a moment and couldn't help his smile.

It had eased the loneliness a bit, to have someone there who grew up with him and understood him—and could see the good of Sasuke being happy and… well adjusted with his new life. It was nice to have friends back again, joking and teasing each other—he noticed, as Sakura probably noticed—how easy Sasuke fit in with them again. With al the problems they had, all the misunderstandings at the end—they still reacted well to one another.

Those were the type of memories that he wanted Sasuke to have—even if they were faint.. if he had to have any memories at all from a past that was no longer his, he wanted them to be nicer memories than all the pain he went through. Including at the very end…

Naruto closed his eyes and prayed that Sasuke would never remember that. He relived it as he relived his own death at times, and it wasn't something anyone needed to experience again, even through the filtering nature of dreams.

* * *

Sasuke rested his cheek on one hand, barely able to focus in on the teacher and his words. Getting back to sleep last night hadn't been easy, and what sleep he had gotten was peppered with odd fragments of the nightmares he had earlier that night. He was more pale than usual, and a few people had stopped to ask if he was alight.

He was jolted out of his dozing state by Kuri poking him in the side. "Do you think that Naruto will allow that?" She whispered to him. He stared at her, not knowing what she was talking about. What did Naruto have to do with anything in the class?

She rolled her eyes. "Weren't you listening to the teacher?" She asked, exasperated. When he shook his head, she gave a small laugh. "Well, you look a little tired, so I guess that's okay." Her lips quirked up. "The professor arranged it with the Hokage of Konoha to have us visit some of the surrounding areas of the village. Not really go deep into the villages or anything—but we're going to go to the area where the village was first formed. It's supposed to be a really good point in the lecture—and to show how important our connection with Konoha is."

He blinked at that and considered. "Naruto probably wouldn't mind." He said after a moment of consideration. "As long as we don't go through the Uchiha estate—he won't even notice or care." He wanted to lay down his head again and fall back asleep. "He guards from that avenue. I'm sure that it will be just fine."

* * *

Sasuke shaded his eyes against the sun, the bright light bouncing off the water. The sound of crashing water surrounded them and he, along with the rest of his class, was rather daunted by the imposing statues surrounding either side of the waterfall. It was a beautiful place, and the walk through the forest to reach this out of the way area had been peaceful.

This place was… so… isolated, but it was beautiful it it's own way. He stood near the middle of the small group of students as his professor lectured about the purpose of this place and how it was connected to Konohagakure. He let the words wash over him, letting them sit in the back of his mind.

"If you look at the river here, and the formations that make up the cliffs, you will see how the story of how two men fought here long ago is shown." Sasuke stifled a yawn. It sounded like it could be a really interesting story—_I'll have to ask Naruto to tell me about it_—but his professor recited it like someone would numbers from an accountants logs. "The river continues to flow, without ever stopping. Because of that battle, Konoha village was formed. Unity was created and people banded together to protect one another, instead of destroying each other."

He paused and gave a faint smile to his class. "Go on—explore and relax for a little while. I'm sure you're all tired of hearing my lecture when it's so nice out here!" The statement was meet by cheers and the class scattered, Sasuke being one of the last ones to move from his spot.

He walked around slowly, not resting his feet in the water as some were doing, not talking with any of the other classmates. His mind seemed to be on auto-pilot as he moved around the area. He blamed it on not sleeping the day before and tried to wake his mind up. There were scars from the battle everywhere, but some…His brow furrowed as he moved closer to the walls of the high cliffs.

"There was a battle here after the one that formed Konoha." A voice in his ear made him jump and he turned to look at his teacher in surprise. "I'll mention it to the class soon enough since it has to deal with our relationships with Konoha at this time—but I noticed your interest in some of the more… prominent scars." His gaze was wry as he gestured to the almost crater-like depressions in the sides of the canyon walls.

"About eighty… no… ninety years ago now, there was a fierce battle here between two friends. They were both very powerful, each very determined to reach their goals. One nearly died in the battle and the other left to seek his power elsewhere." His gaze flicked over the damage. "That is one of the results of a demon's power," He murmured. "It was so incredibly strong and said to have been locked into a young boy." He saw the look of shock on Sasuke's face and shook his head.

"That's all in the past, Sensu-san." He said softly. "I heard later that the same boy that fought so hard to keep his friend around later became the Rokudaime of Konohagakure." He patted Sasuke on the shoulder, leaving his to his thoughts as he continued to stare at the pits and marks that marred the general structure of the canyon walls. For him, the beauty seemed to distort at the new knowledge.

He stepped closer to the slow-moving surface of the water, staring at his reflection like he did earlier with the bathroom mirror. The current underneath moved and shifted his image, blurring the features until they were almost indistinguishable at all. A wave of dizziness came over him suddenly, and the blackness swallowed him up too quickly to provide a decent warning.

The clouds covered the sky thickly and he wondered, in a detached part of his mind, if it was going to rain soon. He felt a connection with the clouds, both of them holding in something that needed to be let out. He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't feel any real emotions like the clouds wouldn't release the rain they were heavy with.

* * *

He was staring across at Naruto, who almost wasn't recognizable. The red charka was visible and flaring around him, hiding his friend from his view. His friend—he kept that in the back of his mind, hoping.. somewhere, somehow—that Naruto understood why he was doing this. He had to understand—Naruto was the only one who ever understood a piece of what he went through, even if he was too blind, too ignorant to realize the rest.

Feeling his lips pull back in a snarl, he readied his attack to finish off Naruto once and for all. To end the only connection he cared about, to sever his ties to Konoha forever. There would be no one welcoming him back after this, there would be no one looking to retrieve him. They would assume that if Naruto couldn't get him back, no one could. They would write him off as a lost cause. Or so he hoped.

"You don't understand!" The pain threatened to overwhelm him as the curse seal ate away at his resources, took chunks out of his soul. It became easier and easier to forget that Naruto was his friend and that he never actually wanted to kill him before, no matter how much the idiot annoyed him. "I have to do this, Naruto. I have to defeat him." This Naruto wasn't listening, though—this Naruto was angry and determined—as if all the determination that had carried him through all their earlier missions combined into this one. And for Sasuke?

"You are the one that doesn't understand!" Naruto snarled and the aura seemed to dim from him as he tried to 'reach' Sasuke. "You're one of the few people that noticed me." He got out, eyes bright with some unnamed emotion. "You and Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei… Iruka-sensei… you guys are the only ones that cared and I'm not going to let a single one of you go!"

Sasuke started at that, some sense flooding back into the blood-red Sharingan eyes. He knew what Naruto said was important… but he made his decision a long time ago. He trained and fought for this day. He had to get rid of Naruto—he was going to hold him back. The fact that Naruto wasn't helping him now was proof that he was a stumbling block in the middle of his goal. A loud, annoying and all too caring stumbling block.

It had to end now. Calling up Chidori—no matter the pain it caused to flare across his senses and make his vision go spotty, he smirked at Naruto. "But I asked for that, Naruto. It's time that we ended this." The energy that made up Chidori sparked and danced around the two of them. "Now."

* * *

"Sasuke! Sasuke, wake up!" Sasuke opened painfully heavy eyes, his body feeling like it had been beaten. He didn't recognize the face in front of him and he groaned, trying to edge away. He didn't want people staring at him. They did it too often—

"Sasuke!" He didn't realize his eyes slipped closed again and he felt several hand supporting him and now-familiar voices babbled in his ear. "Are you okay? What happened?" That was Kuri's voice and she sounded the most worried and he tried to tell her it was just because… because… Actually he didn't know why he passed out.

"I don't think Sensu-san has been sleeping." Another helpful voice piped up. "He looked wasted when he came into school today. I thought he was going to drop in the hallway!" He was propped against a tree and with the shade cooling his face, he felt it was safe to open his eyes all the way again and not be blinded by the sunlight.

Kuri was peering into his face. "Are you okay, Sasuke?" She asked softly. "We saw you looking at the water and you suddenly swayed like something pushed into you—you hit the water right after that." He suddenly realized he was soaking wet. "Abira-kun jumped in after you and pulled you out before you floated who-knows-where—but you weren't breathing." Her face was pale. "What.. what happened?"

He shook his a head that still felt way too heavy and tried to focus. "I… I haven't been sleeping." The reason sounded faint to his own ears. "I guess the walk and the sun was a bit too much." He gave a faint grimace and pushed sopping wet bangs out of his eyes. "I'm sorry for running the class… trip like this."

She shook her head quickly and he was surprised to see the other members of the class looking just as worried about him. I guess it was kind of scary from their perspective. He tried to reason. Seeing one of their classmates topple over like that would have put a damper on any day. "We decided that since you know some people in Konoha already that it would okay to take you there… and they could get you home from there."

He shook his head quickly at that. "Not a chance! I won't be pawned off like some invalid." He managed a grin and tried to stay steady on his feet, but a sudden bought of dizziness nearly had him on the ground again. Gripping the tree so he wouldn't fall over he conceded. "Maybe it would be best." He said weakly. I don't think I could get there on my own.

She gave a brisk nod and pushed him down again. "Just rest there. Someone already went to get a shinobi to help you out there, since we're not really allowed in Konoha." Her expression was perplexed. "Since when did you become such a recognized person there? Most people who aren't born there aren't really allowed inside…"

"Must be because of where I live." He tried to shrug it off as if it were no big deal, and managed a bit of a conspiratorial grin. "Or the loudmouth I live with." Her eyes widened at that and he was glad that it didn't take her too long to catch the meaning. Her eyes brightened with her smile and she shook her head. "That may be it." She nearly shoved him down onto the blanket. "Now rest." She ordered.

He nodded and she eyed him for a moment before moving away, talking to her boyfriend—the one who jumped into the river to save him. He was giving Sasuke weird looks, and he wondered what the older man he seen as he pulled Sasuke out of the water. Whatever it was, it had shook him greatly, Sasuke observed, but not really focusing on it beyond that. He let himself fall asleep again, the soft murmuring of Kuri and Abira near him soothing him.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, Naruto was staring down at him, shaking his head in amusement as he perched at the edge of Sasuke's bed. "You really push yourself too hard, Sasuke." His voice was thick with suppressed laugher and Sasuke couldn't prevent an annoyed look, despite his confusion.

"I don't see how taking a walk constitutes as 'pushing myself', Naruto." He tried to cross his arms over his chest, but the sudden weakness prevented him from doing so. He settled for glaring at him. "So I haven't been sleeping—it's not like it's a crime or something."

"You haven't been sleeping, idiot, because some part of your brain doesn't seem to realize that there isn't anything to protect me from, and patrolling the grounds of your home to search for enemies that aren't there is just a waste of your time." He rolled his eyes and poked Sasuke in the chest. "You were the most dangerous thing I ever faced, Sasuke. And with you being… incapacitated.. the way you are…" Here a slow smirk formed on Naruto's features. "I have to say that I'm more worried about saving your ass from tumbling over a branch than you impaling me with a kunai."

Sasuke gave him a weird look at the phrasing, trying to shake the cobwebs out of his head. "I'm not the one who's more likely to hurt himself…" He frowned and thought it over. "Well—not normally." He protested.

Naruto laughed and ruffled his hair, seemingly enjoying the fact that he could tease and poke at Sasuke without immediate retaliation. Sasuke felt the warmth of Naruto's hand on his forehead and he stared.

"Na…Naruto… how can you be touching me?" He reached up and grasped Naruto's hand, the first time he'd been able to do so. It was warm and solid and all together comforting. "You're.. you're supposed to be dead!"

Naruto gave him an exasperated look, moving over on the bed and pulling Sasuke next to him. "Do I feel dead to you?" He asked reasonably. "I thought we went over that, Sasuke." One hand stroked over his hair, lulling him into a false sense of security but his next words made Sasuke freeze up in shock.

"Those were only dreams."


	8. What Do you See?

It didn't make sense…he couldn't have dreamt… he knew what was real… right? He rubbed his head, where he could feel the faint ache. "You were dead, though." He insisted, a hint of panic in voice.

Naruto sighed, one hand toying with his mask. There wasn't a hint of impatience in the sound, just a feeling that he had heard this many times before and this was just another time. His words confirmed it. "What was the last thing you remembered in your dream, Sasuke?" He asked carefully.

Sasuke blinked and tried to remember. Everything was so fuzzy—he remembered Naruto was dead and the place was empty…but beyond that…_well, the place is empty now._ He told himself firmly._ It is just you and Naruto and the occasional visitor._ Naruto waited patiently, and Sasuke gave a triumphant look.

"I…it was at the…waterfall place…" The name slipped his mind—part of the way his mind was fuzzy, but he could see it so clearly. "It was raining…" He murmured. "And.. and you were…" He frowned and shook his head again. "I made sure that you hadn't died then…" _The Valley of the End…_ it was only a dream…

Naruto sighed and grabbed Sasuke's hand, interlacing their fingers together. "I'd try and beat you up, but I think that'd set you back even more." He said with a faint smile. "But I can reassure you that I'm real this way, too. You didn't kill me then, Sasuke. You couldn't." His voice was firm and confident as he held Sasuke's hand tighter.

Sasuke looked considerably startled at Naruto's sudden display of affection, shaking his head weakly. "But it was too real to be a dream." He insisted. "This is the dream." He had never had such a real one before, minus the one of.. of Itachi. He grimaced at the thought of his older brother. Dreams like that one were meant to be forgotten.

Naruto gave him a weary look as he moved his hand away. "Dreams are just dreams, Sasuke. They can't hurt you, and they're not real. I'm not going to die, I promise." He rectified that. "Well, at least not that easily." His gaze was fierce and some part of Sasuke couldn't help but be reassured by it. "I promised you, didn't I?"

Sasuke remembered the promise… he had made it right after Naruto had brought him back to Konoha, when he was still half out of mind with the curse seal eating away at him, with the pain and fear…

_Sasuke could hear the rain dripping, the sound muffled by the many leaves and the dense covering of pine on the forest floor. It was dark and dreary and he supposed it was cold, but everything but the pain and the fever that ate away at him was dull and pushed far away. He barely felt the restraining hands of the ANBU guard that had captured him, and he lifted hazy eyes to stare up at the captain, his face hidden by a mask._

_"Uchiha Sasuke." It wasn't so much his name as a statement of what he was before, what he became. The voice was serious and mature all at once, cold and imposing and completely unlike the person he connected the charka with. "You are under arrest by the 2nd ANBU Unit of Konohagakure, for crimes against your former village and alliance with the traitor Orochimaru. You will be brought to the Godaime for further questioning and your fate will be then decided." There was no pity in that cold voice, no friendly attitude. If Sasuke hadn't memorized the feel of Naruto, he would say that it was someone doing a crappy job of a Henge._

_"Being… serious.. doesn't suit you, idiot." He coughed, his entire body convulsing from the action. He didn't know how effective his words were, because his eyes wouldn't focus and he couldn't see Naruto's face behind the ANBU mask, but it was unmistakably him. After so long, he was seeing him again. After so many years, Naruto was keeping his promise about bringing Sasuke back to Konoha. And while it wasn't quite in pieces, his body felt like it was about to break apart._

_He wondered vaguely if they were going to kill him here, or wait until they got back. He almost hoped they'd do it now and get it over with. It hurt too damn much to even focus on simple things like breathing, and Naruto's image kept on wavering in and out of his vision like he was a ghost. _A ghost…_NO!_

_He immediately panicked, thrashing in the grip of the other ANBU members that held him, reaching out for Naruto. He was unaware of the curse seal flaring—the pain was absolute anyhow—he didn't know his Sharingan had focused completely on Naruto. "You're dead…" He rasped… "Why…why did you die?" He _hated_ Naruto, wanted to kill him—but he wasn't supposed to be dead. The ANBU Naruto took on the image of the twelve year old Naruto, red eyes glaring at him as he struggled to keep his friend beside him. _

_He couldn't be dead…he made sure he hadn't died… he made sure of it! He didn't realize he was crying as he reached out for Naruto, to reassure him. His hands seemed to pass through him though and he let his arms fall limp before they were restrained by the ANBU members. _

_Naruto's stance didn't give him away, there was nothing in his voice to betray his emotions but a gruffness. "I promise I won't die, Sasuke." He murmured, one warm hand resting on his forehead, much as a parent would do to a child to reassure them. "I'm going to take care of you. It's my turn to help you."_

_Sasuke grimaced and shut his eyes, but Naruto's words relaxed some part of his mind and he nodded in acquiescence. The darkness overtook him, but the pain remained, even in his sleep. The nightmares followed soon after. _

"Yeah, you did.." He said absently. "But it's not like you can predict stuff like that." He tried to lever himself up again. Walking around shouldn't do that much damage to him—he was a shinobi and a little exercise was supposed to strengthen him, not completely exhaust him. He couldn't have gone as far as he did—he dreamt he went to the Valley of the End again—but he had to have gone further than his own front yard.

His friend just growled at him, virtually pinning him to the bed with his gaze. "I promised Sakura-chan that I would bring you back, I promised Tsunade-baba that I could do the Rasengan, I promised myself that I wasn't going to give up." One hand clenched into a fist as Naruto tried to hide his shaking. "And I promise that I won't die when you need me, Sasuke. I'll be here for you. I told you that when I dragged your ass back from Orochimaru."

Sasuke felt a lump in his throat and he looked away, his own hand clenching on the blankets. "I never asked you to bring me back." He murmured, voice low as he tried to hide the response he _wanted_ to give to Naruto. "Didn't I tell you that at the start of my leaving?" His eyes were cold as he looked at Naruto, who only rolled his eyes at his act.

"Yeah, yeah—" Naruto waved it off, either not impressed or not falling for it this time. "You hated my guts, you tried to kill me and now you resent the fact that I dragged your dying ass back home." His eyes didn't reflect the bright grin he wore. "Look—you're obviously exhausted today and I have to report to the Godaime—so you'll have to deal with Sakura-chan''s company for the next few hours."

Sasuke blinked at that, momentarily confused. "Aren't you the Rokudaime…?" He questioned. He seemed to remember that, going to the Hokage's chambers and spotting Naruto's picture hanging on the wall above the desk, Naruto's distinctive whisker-marked faced carved into the mountainside. His brain felt fuzzy as Naruto's sudden laughed startled him and he looked up, annoyed. "What?" He demanded. "I wouldn't think that you being the Hokage would be so funny." He smirked. "At least not to _you._"

"I'm not the Rokudaime until that old hag thinks I'm worthy of the position." He shook his head. "She promised me the title _years _ago, but she doesn't think that I can handle it yet. She says that I need more training first." He winked at Sasuke. "And the fact that I'm watching over your ungrateful self is another part of it. Once you get all healed up and they think you can wander around town without scaring little kids or tripping over your own feet, they'll elevate my position."

Sasuke snorted at the implication that _he_ was keeping _Naruto _back for once. "I highly doubt that." He said dryly. He dropped the emotionless attitude since Naruto just ignored it. He smirked at Naruto. "She probably regretting ever wanting to make a dobe like you Hokage. I'm certain that she had nightmares every time she thought about handing over the fate of the village to you."

At Naruto's outraged look, Sasuke couldn't help but dig a little further. This was where he felt the most normal, in teasing Naruto and seeing him react with actual emotion instead of the stupid blank smiles he was giving Sasuke of latte. "And making _you_ an ANBU? I fear for Konoha. I'm surprise you haven't impaled yourself on your sword or missed an appointment …" He made a tsking sound. "And captain…was nobody else available on that day or did the paperwork get misplaced?"

Naruto snorted and poked him hard in the chest. "I do a damn good job, Sasuke-teme." He glared at him as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Even Ero-sennin is proud of me for how much I've improved." His eyes slid away for a moment and he seemed to get more quiet. "He said I acted like the Yondaime…" At Sasuke's raised eyebrow, he continued hastily. "And it was a compliment this time!"

"Now that's something new…" He chuckled lowly. "From what you told me of that pervert teacher of yours, he wasn't one to hand out compliments easily." He paused for a moment, looking uncertain as if he should continue and voice his thoughts. "If he said it, you probably deserve it." And since he was Sasuke and this was Naruto, he couldn't help teasing him again. "Or you used the Oiroke no Jutsu on him again."

"Why… you…" Naruto was about to tackle him, outrage written all over his face. He was already on the bed and trying to throttle a chuckling Sasuke when a not-so-discreet coughing caught his attention. A young woman with light pink hair glowered at him, hands full of some type of food. "Sakura-chan!" He relieved her of her items and gave her a genuine smile.

"Naruto! You know that Sasuke-kun is sick." She tapped on foot on the floor, her annoyance plain for both of them to see. "No beating up on him until he's better." She paused and eyed the two of them and the smirk that Naruto wore. "Or anything else that I don't want to know about for that matter!" She added hastily. She sat in the unoccupied chair by Sasuke's side, shooing Naruto out of the way.

"Oh, you know that's the only way he'd ever beat me." Sasuke smirked. "By hitting me when I'm down and can't fight back." He stopped and considered. "No, I'd probably still beat him." Naruto casually hit him upside the head. "And I don't know what you mean about anything else." He raised an eyebrow. "We're not _that_ close." He and Naruto reassured each other that they were real—touching hands, interlacing fingers—was as much as they could touch each other—but their friendship was still slowly being rebuilt, much less have anything else occur.

She giggled behind her hand and thwaped him lightly on the head after Naruto. "Now, you should be nice to Naruto." She tried to say, but her eyes were bright with her laughter. "He might actually survive Tsunade-sama's training to become Hokage one day and then what would you do?" She was examining him closely with her charka as she spoke to him, trying to focus on his energy levels, health and the status of the curse seal. "I mean… we might actually have to _respect_ him or something."

Sasuke snorted at that and made himself more comfortable on the pillows. "The day that I have to bow down to Naruto will be a day for the records. I know what he was like growing up. The number one loudmouth ninja of Konoha becoming the Hokage… Sakura—the Godaime hasn't completely lost her mind, has she?"

Sakura muffled more laughter at that, eyes sparkling. It was rare that Sasuke was in a good enough mood to joke and converse with her. The last time she came he snarled and wouldn't let her touch him until she performed a jutsu to put him under while she did a basic examination. "Sasuke-kun—he's gotten much better, really—people respect him in the village now." She grinned faintly. "Even if we never do."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Speaking of the Hokage, that old hag will kill me if I don't get there in time for my diplomacy lessons. She seems to think it's the part of the job I'd have the hardest time with—aside from all that inane paperwork." He pulled his mask over his face and arranged his clothing. He really was supposed to keep on his mask while guarding Sasuke, but as he pointed out to Tsunade, it would be stupid and pointless since Sasuke knew who he was and he wasn't going to emulate Kakashi-sensei and hide his face.

Sakura looked up from her ministrations for a moment, face serious again. "Please tell Shizune-san that I will be by once you are finished with the Hokage." She pulled out a sharp looking tool, making Naruto blanch slightly. He was suddenly grateful for kyuubi and his ability to heal most wounds. "And good luck, Naruto. I know that dealing with her is tiring." She had apprenticed under the Godaime for almost three years and while she felt nothing but respect for the woman, she was still terrified of the power she wielded sometimes and avoided getting on her bad side. Naruto _always_ seemed to annoy her.

With one more nod and a concerned look for Sasuke, Naruto hurried out of the apartment, leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone with each other. He knew that they would be fine and his worried were unfounded, but he was still scared that Sasuke was going to vanish without warning. Just as Sasuke dreamt of Naruto dying at the Valley of the End, Naruto dreamt that he carried Sasuke's body home—and only his body.

It was testimony to Naruto's faith in Sasuke that he did leave him alone with just Sakura to watch him—she could disable him quicker than he could hurt her—she had access to his charka and the makeup of his body, and could essentially destroy him with a few, well-placed seals. It wasn't like he was going to try and escape—_well, at least not anymore_—but Naruto knew that Sakura would do anything to keep Sasuke where he belonged. Even if she didn't hold the same infatuation for him anymore, she still cared for him as a teammate, and that bond was special in itself.. It was hard to extend the camaraderie beyond that, considering all that had happened in the past few years. Nobody, except Naruto it seemed, could look at Uchiha Sasuke the same way anymore.

"You know that Naruto is wearing himself out worrying over you." He blinked at the suddenness of her words and turned to look at her, eyes narrowing. She ignored it and steadily went about doing her job while continuing her conversation. "He's supposed to be your guard, not the other way around, Sasuke-kun."

He snorted at that. "Yeah—like the dobe could be a good bodyguard for me." He smirked and then winched when she jabbed him particularly hard. "I mean…" His gaze softened for a moment. "Well, he's not that bad—" He allowed. "He's grown up a lot. Maybe he really did earn the ANBU rank. But… the only missions he seems to be doing is guarding me and this estate." He was nicer and more prone to give compliments when Naruto wasn't around to hear them.

"That's because he _is_ in training to become Hokage, Sasuke-kun." Her eyes met his and it seemed that she was completely serious. She hadn't given him such intense attention since before he left, but this was a different kind. "He values your friendship above anything, Sasuke-kun—but he knows that his duty as the potential Rokudaime _should_ take higher priority. Don't make this any more difficult for him than it already is." Her fingers ran over the edge of his comforter. "He wants to do everything…"

Sasuke's look was decidedly cool. "I did not tell him to guard me, I didn't tell him to still be my friend. It's all his fault for whatever he does—or doesn't do. He's more of a moron than I thought, though if he thinks that taking care of me is more important than duty to his village." Naruto's village—Sakura's village—but no longer his. He was an outsider now, the only thing he had to connect him as a Konoha shinobi was the scratched headband that Naruto gave back to him. "You are simply doing your duty by checking up on me." His expression didn't give away anything, he had perfected the emotionless look a long time ago. "There's a difference that I can see."

Sakura glared at him and hit him heard upside the head. "You're such an idiot, Sasuke." She didn't include the –kun this time and he knew she was annoyed. Not that he cared if she address him familiarly or not, but the difference sent a little prick through his being. "Just because I'm not falling all over you, just because I was never as close to you as Naruto was, doesn't mean that I still don't care. It's not just duty, you moron. Don't you know that you're not even supposed to have medical care? I'm doing this because we were once teammates, and possibly even friends."

Sighing, she sat back and gave him a tired smile. "You know that it probably won't be long until you are part of this village again. Once Naruto is Hokage, he'll probably be able to make some change to bring you back. We _need_ you back, Sasuke-kun. Not all of us hate you for what happened."

Naruto talked about him getting around town again—but he never lied and said that he would be a Konoha shinobi again. Others said that he was too dangerous, too unstable to be let loose with his skills as a ninja. They couldn't erase what he learned, but they could block the flow of his charka so that he couldn't do anything beyond taijutsu. As much as he knew he needed to do what he did—he regretted it now. He was scared that he would die helpless—

_"Uchiha Sasuke, for your betrayal against your home village of Konohagakure and your conscious decision to go to the enemy village of Sound, and apprenticing to the former Sannin Orochimaru, also betrayer to Konohagakure, we have determined you should be interred at the Uchiha estate under constant guard for an indefinite time."_

_It was actually one of Sasuke's better days, health wise, and he stared at the council and the Hokage impassively. Naruto was on Tsunade's right side, his own face the mirror of Sasuke's own, except for the slight pain in the back of his eyes. As the potential Hokage, he was present at meetings like this, to get the feel of the position to know what he would be facing in his new role. The mundane and the serious._

_"Uzumaki Naruto, in preparation for his role as Hokage, will be your main guard." She gestured to the young man on her right, as if he didn't know who he was, as if he hadn't been on his team when they were both graduates from the Academy. "He will still continue to do many of his duties as ANBU captain, but his mission for now will be watching over you." She paused and looked down at a scroll for a moment, before meeting his eyes again. "Per discretion of Naruto, a medic-nin will also be assigned to you to monitor your health and progress of the curse seal, until a way can be found to erase it completely."_

_Sasuke nodded again, one hand tensing at his side as he resisted the urge to touch the place where the curse seal was temporarily repressed. He knew that the curse seal was the main cause for the way his body ached, for why he felt so weak and then had flashes of anger. He was fighting the effects now, but he didn't know how much longer he could last. He didn't say anything, though, not even to the though of _Naruto _being his guard. He would rather have him than anyone else._

_Naruto didn't argue either, didn't give any expression away as he bowed slightly to Tsunade. "I will do my best, Hokage-sama." There was no hint of the teasing in his voice like when he usually dealt with her, at least that's how Sasuke remembered it. Maybe he finally learned how to treat someone with the proper respect—at least in public._

_Sasuke wondered what other things about his friend had changed. The way Naruto held himself when they captured him in the forest, the way he held in his emotions now. The Naruto he knew couldn't do that—he was always too loud, too full of himself. He supposed he would find out what was different about him. They were going to be together for a long time._

Sakura said something that he didn't quite catch, and he forced his wandering thoughts back on the present. "Well, Sasuke-kun—your energy levels are up quite a lot from the last examination." Her voice was cheerful and she patted his hand. "And the curse seal is quite…silent." Her voice turned soft. "I think that if Naruto gets permission for you to start training again, you'll get better that much faster." He nodded absently, one hand going to where the mark of the curse seal still was. It never faded after Orochimaru was killed, and it still hurt him terribly at times, as if wanting to prepare his body for a person that was no longer there.

He was about to say something more to that, when she changed the subject entirely. "What do you think about Naruto becoming the next Hokage?" She may have finished her ministrations, but still acted the part of a guard. "He always wanted it—wanted to be acknowledged by everybody." Her eyes turned back to him and he was surprised at the sudden seriousness in him. She, like Naruto, had grown up a lot in the years he'd been away.

"You're talking like he died or something." He sat up in bed, stretching out his limbs and satisfied when they responded to him this time. Talk like that reminded him of his dream, where people talked about the great things that the Rokudaime did during his short interim in that position. Naruto was alive and well—he felt the warmth of his hands not that long ago—and he didn't want the images of a lonely, ghostly Naruto to linger in the back of his mind.

Sakura grew still for a moment at the mention of Naruto dying, then shook off the gloomy thoughts. "He grew up a great deal after you left. Everything in him was driven towards protecting those he cared about—he studied and controlled his charka, learned more about Kyuubi and…" Her eyes slid away. Sasuke was never told about what would happen if Kyuubi was ever taken from Naruto. "He's learned what it means to be the Hokage, now—unlike his boasting from before."

"It wasn't boasting—at least not all the way." Sasuke understood better than anyone Naruto's words, why he acted the way he did when they were younger. If you shouted, people would notice you. Even if it was for annoyance for stupid acts—they saw you and separated you from an image they had originally conceived. "It was his fondest wish at the time, to be _seen."_

He doubted the Sakura could ever really understand the meaning of those words. She could learn more about Naruto, more about why he acted the way he did, but never empathize with what he went through growing up. Even Sasuke couldn't fully comprehend.

He thought she would leave him alone—or as alone as he could get after that, but to his surprise she nodded as she gathered the food that Naruto had set down, scooping out the rice and steamed fish and setting it a tray. "I know—because of the kyuubi." She said softly. "Tsunade-sama told me about it, and later on—Naruto told me. We learned more after we went to save Gaara." A tear streaked down her face and he wondered what would make her cry like that. She never cried because of Naruto before.

She put the food in front of him. "You need to eat something besides whatever Naruto fixes for you." She explained simply. "Even if that moron feels he can live off ramen and bread and milk all the time—" She gave a small laugh. "The rest of us are different."

Sasuke eyed the food with surprise as he picked up the offered chopsticks. "He hardly eats ramen here." He said softly. "He eats a lot healthier than I would ever give him credit for. I think the only reason why he ate ramen so much was because it was cheap and easy to make." Sasuke had thought about a similar meal at times when he was younger, but he couldn't imagine lowering himself to eat something so… so basic like the cup of ramen that Naruto favored.

Sakura gave him a disbelieving look at that. "He must be showing off for you, Sasuke-kun." She said with a slight grin as she patted his hand. "He ate nothing but that crap when we were off on missions."

"Maybe he was just used to portraying a certain image to everybody." Sasuke watched her over his meal of rice and fish. "He is used to showing people a certain face and it would be hard to take off that mask."

Giving an uncertain nod, Sakura resumed her spot and watched him. "Maybe so, Sasuke-kun. Personally, I think he's hiding his true self more than ever now. Especially the pain." No more words were said after that, Sasuke finishing up his meal and Sakura doing her job of guarding him until Naruto came back.

They didn't talk much anymore—there really wasn't a lot to talk about anymore. Sasuke didn't want to hear mindless chatter about what was going on in the village. He made a choice a long time ago that he didn't belong there anymore—he never really did. And to hear Sakura and her fake happy attitude, it grated on his nerves and made him want to hide his head under a pillow. He got enough of fake-happy from Naruto.

He felt his eyes slipping closed again, but he fought it. He hated feeling weak like this. Hands clenched in the blankets as he shoved them off, and Sakura's startled gaze met his own. "I'm going out to train." He said firmly. "I won't get any better just laying around in bed."

"Sasuke-kun… you…you're not really allowed…" She bit her lip. She hated seeing Sasuke like this—it wasn't him when he wasn't training or fighting with Naruto, it wasn't him to be so still and so unfocused. His eyes wandered far more than they ever had, and she could feel him slipping away more and more as the weeks went by. It was only a matter of time now.

"What could it hurt?" She asked finally, extending a hand to him to steady him as she led him out to the training grounds. Naruto would kill her later for doing this, but it wasn't as if Sasuke was going to try and kill her—he just needed something to feel like himself again.

He just grunted a reply, his other hand touching the curse seal lightly and pleased when it didn't flare up at all. The sunlight shocked his senses for a moment, but he adjusted quickly. It felt so good to be outside again, and he just took several deep breaths, trying to steady himself.

Looking at the target, he was aware of Sakura to the side of him, one hand on her weapons pouch. It irked him that she was so direct about her distrust, but then he realized she was handing him several shuriken and a kunai. "You don't have any of your own." She explained softly.

He gave her a surprised look and took the weapons carefully, eyes focused on the target in front of him,. He was about to throw the kunai when he heard Naruto's voice next to him, amusement and worry warring together.

_"You really suck at this, Sasuke._:" Sasuke snarled and looked around, wondering if Naruto had come back early and was just watching them now. He didn't sense him, though and he tried to ready himself again, a little unnerved.

_"I used to train everyday since I got my first weapon… Sasuke did, too. Most of the kids in the village that showed an inclination towards shinobi skills trained."_

Sasuke's hands trembled. He was hearing Naruto, but it didn't sound like Naruto—not quite. His voice seemed more hollow, a false cheer that hid pain. He could almost see Naruto, wavering in front of his vision, standing in front of the target—wearing Hokage robes and looking sad.

_"Wake up, Sasuke… you … _" He could hear Sakura vaguely, but Naruto's voice was more clear at the moment. He backed away, shaking hands letting go of the weapons as he covered his ears with his hands. It was like the dreams, only now it was waking dreams that he couldn't escape.

"How is he doing, Naruto?" Tsunade gave her student a measuring look, seeing the strain he tried to hide. He was trying so hard, doing too much. She admired his dedication to both his friend and as his duty to his potential Hokage position, but he was going to burn himself out if he kept it up.

"He seems to be getting better." He said softly. "Although he's having those dreams again. Dreaming of the Valley of the End again—where he thought he killed me." His eyes were unhappy as he looked up at his mentor. "Tsunade-baba—I can't help but think this is the calm before the storm."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, debating with herself if she should tell him or not, if she should bring more pain and worry and secrets to heap upon his shoulders. He had to know, though—she couldn't put either he or Sasuke through the risk. "He's…he's at a difficult point, Naruto." She said finally. "The curse seal can never be completely erased from him. It's infused itself with his charka, draining him and causing all sorts of problems with his general health. If he never uses its power again, or most of his charka at all, he'll be fine, but if a situation occurs where he uses it again, he'll die."


	9. Not Always Right

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Nine

by: Lazuli

Don't own Naruto. Warnings: Spoilers, speculations. Laz having fun being evil and thoroughly confusing half the people here. XD Don't worry, it'll eventually make sense, but I like keeping up the mystery of what's going on here.

As Naruto looked down at the sleeping form of Sasuke, he was looking paler than normal, dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in awhile. Naruto wondered how he had missed that—but it wasn't like he watched him night and day. He had other duties, of course—and sometimes those duties conflicted with the interests of his best friend. His only friend, really.

Sasuke stirred and turned in the bed, murmuring something under his breath that Naruto didn't quite catch. He had been frightened when he came back from his meeting with Tsunade and having Sasuke stare right through him, as if he wasn't there. It was a creepy feeling, one that sent shivers down his spine. It reminded him of the dreams Sasuke said he had, of him being dead, of the Uchiha estate rotting away with no one there to care for it, with no one really remembering the Uchiha name.

It had the feel of a premonition, a chill the spreading through his thoughts when Sasuke wasn't around. And after what Tsunade told him.. the warnings she gave him concerning Sasuke and his ability to use the chakra he prided himself on—it wasn't just the loss of his life that was at risk, but the pride in his name. To be forbidden to use the talents he had trained so hard in would kill him more effectively than using them would. He couldn't tell Sasuke—he would just play it off, keep him distracted with excuses of resting his energy levels—to keep him training with other forms of training.

He would protect Sasuke now—not just out of duty, but because of how he felt towards him. He told Sasuke once that they shared a bond, that he was the first friend that Naruto had ever made, that Sasuke was like a brother to him—what he always seen brothers act like. He knew Sasuke from such a young age, but they were never really friends until after they were on the same gennin team. It seemed so _wrong_, though that he had to protect Sasuke from anything. He had always been so strong—he had been Naruto's inspiration for so long. Seeing him laying there, more asleep than awake half the time, it struck a chord in him that was bitter.

Protecting people—especially ones that he cared about—was a lesson that was driven home when he was only twelve. Protecting people—doing what was best for them, was a hard balance to maintain. He knew there were a multitude of reasons why Tsunade gave him the duty of watching Sasuke. Not just because it was 'good training' for his eventual status as Hokage. As much as it had originally been a cover story for the lords of the Fire Country, it was very true in how Naruto couldn't let his friendship with Sasuke cloud any judgments he made concerning him, whether they be good or bad.

Not that Tsunade believed that Sasuke was a threat at the moment—or anytime in the near future. It was the decision of how to treat, what to do with him—if knowing that ending his life would be better than letting him live in pain—that was what she impressed upon him today. Sometimes death was a better choice when there was nothing to live for. Naruto growled out loud in remembrance of the thought. He would make sure Sasuke had a reason to live again.

He gently shook Sasuke awake, his hand lingering on Sasuke's shoulder for a moment until his friend opened his eyes. For once, there wasn't the confusion there—they were clear and alert, and clearly relieved to see Naruto. "Hey…" He muttered. "Did you meeting with Tsunade go well?" He was already moving out of bed as he asked, determined not to be stuck in the damn thing for much longer. He was getting sick of it. "And where'd Sakura go?"

Naruto snorted and resisted the urge to support Sasuke as he walked towards the kitchen area—Sakura told him that other than the slight breakdown that Sasuke had, he was doing a great deal better and didn't need to be confined to his bed any longer. "The old hag just said that I might have some natural talent at being diplomatic, but I don't use it enough." Rolling his eyes gave his opinion of that. "So she'll be mainly concentrating on politics." He answered Sasuke's second question. "Sakura left as soon as I came back—she's in rather high demand as a medic-nin."

Sasuke nodded absently to that, rummaging through the cupboards. For the first time in a long time, he felt almost normal—like his body was his own and his muscles would work correctly. "Did she do something while I was asleep?" His brow furrowed as he turned to Naruto. "I didn't feel this good earlier." Not that he was objecting to the healing—it was too much of a blow to his pride to have to be dependant on anyone—but at the same time, he would have liked to have been told.

"I'm not sure about that." He joined Sasuke in the kitchen, digging around for his stash of instant ramen cups. He was too tired to think of making an actual meal, and he absently rubbed at his eyes, stifling a yawn. "She mentioned that you were doing better. Maybe she sped something up, or your body was just making up for lost time."

Sasuke mumbled an agreement, nose wrinkling in distaste at Naruto's choice of a meal. Talking casually like this, making food—just interacting with each other, it was easy to pretend that nothing had changed over the years, except perhaps their friendship gaining a new level of understanding. Naruto still treaded warily around him, but it was easier to deal with that then admit to himself that he would not leave his family's ground for a long time.

Naruto saw his look and smirked. "Why, you don't like the idea of Sakura running her hands all over your body why you're unconscious?" He teased. "Laying there… unaware of what Sakura really does to you…" He gave a mock leer towards Sasuke, eyes bright with amusement at the flush that crossed Sasuke's cheeks. It was such a rare thing to get him to react that he took every chance to do it.

"You have a sick sense of humor, Uzumaki." Sasuke growled out, practically slamming the pan on the stove. "To even joke about that…" He shuddered. "You weren't the one that Sakura and every other girl fawned over. I was afraid that if I left a shirt around or something after training they'd snatch it, cut it up and frame it on their walls.."

Naruto laughed out loud at that, nearly spilling the hot water for his ramen. "You're exaggerating." He shook his head and poked Sasuke in the side. "Now that I look back on it, it's actually pretty funny to see how trained, serious kunoichi could completely lose their minds over you." There was a fleeting emotion in his eyes that Sasuke didn't quite catch, but didn't press on—he just decided to turn the tables on Naruto, falling back into their old habits of antagonizing each other.

"I wasn't the only one that had a girl hovering over him…" Sasuke's look was sly. "Sakura tended to be all over you, too---" He paused, as if considering that statement. "Of course, she was trying to beat the shit out of you every time, too…"

Naruto scowled at that, but a smile was tugging at the corner of his lips. This was the old Sasuke, this was the person he grew to know on their various missions and time spent training together. Arrogant and a bit of a prick at times, but the lost look was gone now. He was much more self assured as if in his dreams he found something solid to grasp onto.

Sasuke saw the annoyed look and couldn't help but continue, softening the blow a little. "Hinata-chan liked you a lot." He pointed out. "I can't believe you were so blind growing up that you didn't notice her blushing and looking at the ground every time she saw you." He raised an eyebrow as Naruto took a quick slurp of his noodles and the shocked look in his eyes. "Don't tell me you never noticed, even now!" He said in exasperation.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "Like you're any better." He scoffed. He noticed Hinata, of course—she was always so shy and it touched something inside of him to have her so nice to him, to not see a disgusted look on her face when she gazed at him. She reminded him of himself at times—because she tried so hard, had so much drive and dedication to her cause. She had moved up into the ranks—she was now of jounin status and while she didn't blush around him anymore, there was still that steadying look. As he slurped his noodles, he vaguely wondered if her supportive presence helped him go as far as he did. It was the opposite of the driving need to exceed Sasuke, but in it's own way…

Sasuke smirked at him. "At least I wasn't trying to hug girls." He flipped the noodles in the pan, eyes vaguely amused. "I knew that training was a little more important than trying to get Sakura to kiss me." He never had forgotten how Naruto had transformed into the image of him to get information out of Sakura.

Naruto flushed at that, poking at the remains of the noodles in the bottom of his cup, nose twitching at the more appealing smell of the ginger-spiced noodles that Sasuke was making. "I…I just wanted to know the truth." His voice was softer at that, gaze far away for a moment before he turned back to Sasuke with a wide grin. "Although it was interesting to see how she really acted around you." He rolled his eyes at that.

Sasuke snorted at that, shaking his head. "You had to transform into me to find that out? Were you entirely blind? Why the hell do you think I trained with you so often?" There was a hiss of oil and a cloud of steam from the pan, as if to emphasize his words.

Naruto's chopsticks slammed on the table as he glared at Sasuke. "Was that the only reason?" He demanded. "Just to escape from a bunch of freaky girls?" His look turned disgusted. "Hell, Sasuke—I knew you were shallow at times, but that's just… weird." As he got up to toss his empty ramen cup in the trash, one hand at his side clenched into a fist. "You'd rather beat the shit out of me then have people fawn over you."

Sasuke's hand reached out and snagged his wrist, eyes narrowing at the turn that Naruto had taken their conversation. It turned from friendly banter to almost recrimination. "You deaf or something, usurakontachi?" He demanded. "I said that I preferred your company to a bunch of giggling girls, idiots that only cared about my name and … looks." He smirked again. "Maybe if you had dressed then like you do now…"

Naruto blinked in surprise at that for a moment, eyes flicking away. "They didn't understand." His eyes met Sasuke's, a rare moment of acknowledged understanding there. "Why did you want to be reminded of how great you were supposed to be?" Sasuke's grip lessened on his wrist and Naruto took that opportunity to lace their fingers together again.

Sasuke nodded, one hand absently turning off the stove and placing the noodles on two plates, his other hand gripping Naruto's. "You were the only one that treated me like it didn't matter." He answered. "It pissed me off at first… but then I realized how much it meant to me that you saw me… I wasn't living in the shadow of my brother, of my clan name with you. You hated me because I was an asshole to you."

Naruto laughed at that, pulling Sasuke along with him, his free hand grasping the plate that Sasuke obviously made for him. "Yeah, you were an asshole." He agreed easily, enjoying the brief irritation in Sasuke's gaze as he didn't try and deny a thing. "But you were also my friend. If I saw you—you saw me."

Sasuke stilled at that, head tilted to the side as he considered how to answer that question. Since being _nice_ wasn't precisely his way, he shrugged and answered Naruto in the way he knew how, in the way they both were used to. He was half afraid that if he spoke the words that lingered in the back of his mind, it would go somewhere he wasn't sure of. "Who could miss you with that bright orange jacket?"

Naruto frowned and tensed, a biting response at the tip of his tongue, when he looked down at his plate at the meal that Sasuke unthinkingly included him in, the way that the other boy wouldn't quite meet his gaze and just the tone he said the usual insult in. He smiled and squeezed their interlocked hands. "At least I was noticeable to someone." He murmured. The rest of the meal was spent in comfortable silence, and neither of them was willing to let go of the others hand.

Sasuke rested one hand on the edge of the doorframe, trying to bat away the image of a housewife waiting for her husband to come home. Naruto had to rush away suddenly after some disturbing news in the village—it concerned one of teams that had been out on a particularly dangerous and sensitive mission, one that only a few people had knowledge of. Naruto only knew about it because of his nearness to the Hokage position.

Naruto couldn't tell him anything about it, not even the team that had been assigned to it. He was unusually serious when the topic of it came up, bright blue eyes shadowed by the knowledge of whatever the mission concerned.

"Worried about the team, or Uzumaki?" A dry voice asked behind him. He turned to see Shikamaru, who didn't seem too concerned about the fact that Sasuke was wandering around with no one to keep a close eye on him. He couldn't be left completely alone—none of the lords would stand for that—but he didn't need an team to nag him to death either. Shikamaru, in between teams, was assigned to him until Naruto got back.

"Both." Sasuke said shortly. Shikamaru hardly ever showed any emotion at all, and to see the barely hidden disdain in his eyes was almost like a physical blow. He was never friends with him—not that he was friends with anyone besides Naruto. He remembered Naruto telling him about Shikamaru's speech before they fought. About how even if Sasuke had left—he was still a member of Konohagakure, and a comrade. He wondered if he was still viewed as that, but didn't ask.

"Naruto will be back shortly." Shikamaru leaned against the outer wall, eyes flicking towards Sasuke before flicking back to his observance of the sky. "He just finished up the last parts of the paperwork needed."

Sasuke felt a glimmer of hope that Shikamaru was sharing this information with him, that he was letting him know what was going on—letting him know that he was still a member of Konoha. He gave a small nod, hands tightening around the doorframe. He only hoped that it wouldn't be too bad of news.

It wasn't long before Naruto's form appeared, face still hidden by the ANBU mask. His stance was the only thing that gave his emotions away, the way he almost dragged his feet when he walked. Something had happened… and it didn't look good.

Naruto paused by him a moment, then went onto Shikamaru, murmuring something indistinct that Sasuke couldn't catch. Shikamaru's eyes dimmed for a moment before he nodded. "I hope to see you later, Naruto." His voice was subdued, a note of pain in it that sent a shiver of worry down Sasuke's back. He watched Shikamaru hurry through the estates, straight towards the Hokage Tower.

He turned to Naruto, eyes silently asking what had gone on. Naruto just pulled him deeper into the house, a gloved hand reaching up to remove his mask. Golden spikes seemed flatter, blue eyes seemed a shade dimmer. "Sasuke…" There was a note of almost pleading in just his name, a sadness that tugged on his heart. Naruto rarely—if ever-let anyone see something bothering him.

Sasuke just knew that there was something terribly wrong here, and he found himself leading Naruto to the touch, tugging on him and pulling him down to sit beside him. He reached out and grasped Naruto's hand, frowning at the glove for a moment before tugging them off. He didn't like to feel the leather – even though he could feel the shape of Naruto's hand underneath, it wasn't the same as the warm skin-to-skin contact. "Tell me." He ordered. It wasn't odd—not anymore to sit like this, to listen to Naruto, for the both of them to talk. It was isolated, so empty—so _quiet_ at his family's holdings most of the time. It was as only the two of them existed and they reacted to that.

It didn't matter that Naruto saw more of the outside world than he did—Naruto was here most of the time and he was the only solid thing in Sasuke's world at the moment. He still found himself seeing phantoms at times, images that couldn't be real and taunted him. He dreamt just earlier today that he visited the memorial stone that they had their first training session at. He saw so many familiar names, names of people he had grown up with, gone to school with, fought side by side with. He watched his fingers trace over the familiar names and he felt sick. He saw Naruto's name right before he woke up. He didn't want to sleep anymore.

"The team came back from their mission." Naruto said softly, hands seeking out Sasuke's as his body shook from repressed emotion. His voice had an eerie, flat quality that struck more deeply than one that was hurt. "Hinata-chan was on that team—and…" His eyes closed briefly as he took a deep breath before continuing. "Right now she's in critical condition at the hospital—even Tsunade isn't sure if she's going to make it."

Sasuke's eyes widened at that and his other hand went to Naruto's shoulder, drawing him closer. It wasn't that long ago that he had teased him about his 'secret admirer', and now… this? Naruto's voice was softer now. "It was a dangerous mission—and several of her team members were injured. She… she poured herself into getting them into at least passable condition, enough energy so that the mission could be completed and they could get home. On the way back… she was hit with a weird jutsu… and…" He shook his head and continued. "She was still too weak from depleting her chakra." He finished.

Sasuke knew that even if Naruto didn't love Hinata, even if he wasn't close to her—she was one of those rare people in his life that cared for him, saw him and encouraged him with his dreams, even when everyone around her turned their gazes away. Knowing that Naruto needed it, he wrapped his arms around Naruto and gave him the first hug of his life.

Naruto latched onto him, mask clattering to the ground, and his body shivered slightly from repressed tears. He never cried anymore—only when he was happy did he cry and it didn't matter then. To cry now—to show someone—especially Sasuke—that he could cry, _did_ cry seemed an impossible act. But… no one had ever hugged him like this, no one had ever shown concern in that way. His hands tightened on the fabric of Sasuke's shirt and he wept.

And Sasuke found out that he too, could still cry.

They sat like that for at least an hour, both of them worn out from tears they had never allowed themselves to shed before. From clinging onto a source outside of their own, to understand that even if you were hurt before—even if the person who hurt you was the only one you ever trusted—it was okay to take a second chance—_give_ a second chance and try again. To know that while it hurt, someone took half the pain as you took half of theirs.

Naruto finally pulled away, an embarrassed look crossing his features, mouth opened to try and explain his way out of such a breakdown. He was going to become Hokage—he knew from a young ago what it meant to be a shinobi and sacrifice yourself for those you cared about. Sasuke just glared at him, his own eyes slightly puffy and red from crying. "Don't." He ordered sharply. His voice rasped a little. "You're not going to apologize for crying, damnit. If it makes you feel better, you're off duty—you're _human._" He fisted one hand in Naruto's shirt, shaking his head. "I know…I know that you need to cry sometimes." He whispered.

Naruto made a face at that, hands scrubbing at the tear marks on his face. He was annoyed with himself, but didn't voice anything. He couldn't force a cheerful smile, either—but it was just Sasuke and he didn't have to hide around Sasuke, who would only yell at him and whack him upside the head. Sasuke… Sasuke always managed to get a real reaction out of Naruto, even if was mostly annoyance. "I won't." He said shortly, pulling away from Sasuke fully now. "I just… I guess there was just a lot going on." He sighed and looked off, not meeting Sasuke's gaze. "Too much at once, I guess."

He wasn't telling Sasuke the entire truth—he wouldn't, couldn't tell him everything that made him break like that. He could make parts of seem like the whole things, and parts would have to satisfy Sasuke until Naruto found the courage—the time—to tell Sasuke everything. He couldn't tell Sasuke how seeing Hinata laying there reminded him too much of Sasuke, that the threat of her death was the impending death of his best friend. The two people he had grown up with that had shown any acknowledgement of _him_ were going to be taken away from him. And he couldn't stop it.

He could almost feel it, touch it and taste it—those warnings, the signs that were thrust in his face everyday. He wanted to cling hard to life, to his dreams and goals and past—he wanted to remember everything of who he was, who he met and interacted with so that he would never forget what it meant to get to the place he was now—or would achieve. He wanted to hold Sasuke again and reassure himself that he was real, that he wouldn't vanish like an illusion. He wanted to reassure his friend that _he_ wasn't a ghost or figment of the imagination.

He wanted to _feel_, to grasp more of what he had never had in life. And Sasuke was the only one that he could trust that with. Sasuke who understand, Sasuke who was like his other half. Even when he tried to kill him that one day, even with they insulted each other and beat each other up… Sasuke was a part of him that he couldn't stand to lose.

He squeezed Sasuke's hand briefly before heaving himself up from the couch, yanking Sasuke along with him. "What do you say to training?" He asked with a hint of his old smile. "Sparring only, no chakra."

Sasuke smirked and raised an eyebrow at the challenge. He always had been better than Naruto when it came to hand to hand combat, or even with weapons. Naruto had more power than him, but Sasuke had more control. "You're on."

That one night was one of the scattered moments of closeness, of letting down barriers. It was that night where their friendship had truly begun the slow repairing. It helped that they understood each other on a level that no one could comprehend, that Naruto had never hated Sasuke, had forgiven him somewhere inside. It helped that Sasuke never hated Naruto, that a part of him always wanted to get back to the one person that gave him purpose in life—a real purpose, other than the mindless revenge he held for his brother. He knew that if he hadn't made friends with Naruto, he would have killed himself along with his brother. He never wanted to come back to the Uchiha estate alone, with the memory of his brother's blond staining his hands, just as his brother had his family's blood on his. But he wasn't alone, not with Naruto there. The empty spaces, the echoing corridors were filled with just…_Naruto_.

For someone who always wanted somewhere near, but never let anyone close, the thought of _missing_ Naruto was a strange thing. When he was training with Orochimaru, he missed the loud exclamations, the bright clothing—he missed the insults and fighting, the way Naruto would shove his face into his and make him break his own calm façade and get annoyed back. Even now, with Naruto more calm—more serious and driven towards his original goal, it was still comforting. It was a measure of sanity in a world that had gotten twisted out of proportion when he was only eight.

Despite reassurances and platitudes given by Sakura, the evasive answers and dodged questions from Naruto answered more about his condition than he was ever told. He could feel his own energy—he wasn't stupid and he'd been trained to do it, as they all were. Controlling their chakra, knowing how much one had, what it could be used for—he knew it intimately and he could felt he wrongness. He felt it for years now, an insidious black thread of sickness moving throughout his body. It was fainter now than it had ever been, but he knew that something was wrong—

Not that he would tell Naruto, of course. He was already worried over the dreams Sasuke had, worried about his comrades—people he and Sasuke both grew up with. He was busy with the training to become the Hokage, the stress and worry that he would do good in a position that meant so much to him, a legacy left to him. Sasuke was the only one he ever told—besides Tsunade, he was sure—that the people of Konohagakure would never accept him. More people acknowledged him and saw him—they knew that they needed someone strong like Naruto, someone who was obviously so dedicated in protecting the village—but at the same time—how could you really trust someone you feared all your life?

So Sasuke kept silent on his own impending feelings of doom, not having the heart to dump more on his friend that had already taken so much on his shoulders. He couldn't tell Naruto that he feared he would die, his energy eaten by a force he originally hadn't asked for, but ruthlessly exploited when it came to getting what he wanted. Sasuke wanted to be there for Naruto, to reassure him with either barely brushed fingertips or beating him until they both fell asleep against each other. That was life, that was the moment to live for. Dwelling too far on the past or the future was what caused the ripples of damage.

He sometimes wondered, in the vaguest part of his mind, what type of relationship he and Naruto really had. He never thought on it much, almost as if he really dug too deep, it would dig too far and hurt, it would distort and damage what they had. He just knew that he and Naruto were closer than they ever were—or maybe they were always this close and finally acknowledged it.

Whatever it was, he would preserve it for as long as possible. And sometimes keeping secrets was better than telling them. Some secrets were kept to protect people, to save those one cared about from hurting more. Sasuke would keep this secret forever if he had to, and he would just live for the moments, the time he had with Naruto now.

tbc


	10. More Secrets

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Nine

by: Lazuli

Standard Disclaimer applies. Warnings? Well, possibly some spoiler-ish things going on, angst and loads of it, ooh, look—is that a plot I see? I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. Many thanks goes to Aishuu and my roommate for their help with suggestions and odd little things to help this chapter along.

Sasuke was barely aware of Inara meeting him at the Valley of the End, her eyes moving over him and slightly concerned "It seems that we're getting to know each other quite well, Sensu-san." Her voice was heavy with amusement as she half supported him. Most of the class had already departed, with only Kuri, Abira and their professor remaining to watch over him and to await his escort.

He made a face at that, still feeling slightly dizzy but not wanting to lean on anyone. "Naruto's going to be pissed…" His voice said he didn't really care and Inara stared at what seemed to be a complete change of personality from the Sasuke she met earlier. "At least he didn't have to come all the way out here. I think it would have hurt him."

Inara swallowed and shook her head. Apparently Sasuke was still a little out of it from the fall he had, and this place… She shivered slightly at the imposing statues, the way everything was so quiet except for the sound of the waterfall. It could make anyone act strangely. "I'm taking you back to him, Sensu-san." Her voice remained steady as she half-carried him back to the Uchiha estates. Naruto could deal with him from that point on.

It wasn't easy having to deal with Sasuke, and especially when things like this happened. Inara had brought him back from the Valley of the End, a quick explanation of what had happened. Sasuke looked rather dazed himself to see Naruto, but didn't get many words out before he stumbled to bed. Naruto watched over him, and he was struck at how familiar this all was—the situation and the setting.

It was like the past was repeating itself in more than one way, and events were piling up on top of one another, too fast to count the number and crowding too thickly to separate all of them. Naruto was helpless to stop the flow of it all, and even though Neji warned him about this, he couldn't do anything about it short of locking Sasuke out of the estate, and even that wasn't guaranteed to fix anything. Naruto didn't know the extent of the damage yet, or if he was just seeing too much into it, but he didn't want to see—he didn't want to face a Sasuke that couldn't forgive him for the past.

"Why is it that I'm always in bed these days?" Sasuke muttered as he woke up, one hand pressing against his throbbing temples. "I thought Sakura said I didn't have to be stuck here anymore?" His brow furrowed as he met the shocked gaze of Naruto. "What's with that stupid look, dobe?"

Naruto gaped at him and shook his head, trying to form words but unable to respond that. "Um… Sasuke?" He asked cautiously. "Why are you calling me dobe?" His blue eyes were wide with concern and he was hoping that it was just a little blip, that he would shake it off and mumble something about weird dreams or …

"Because you _are_ one, even if you are going to become Hokage one day." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Did you hit your head or something? You're acting weird." His brow furrowed as he took a closer look at Naruto. "And you're not dressed in your ANBU uniform—you off duty or something?" As he leaned forward to grab onto Naruto's clothing, his hand went right through him.

Sasuke's face immediately drained of all color. "You said that was a dream." He said shakily. "You're not supposed to be see-through, damnit!" His voice broke on the last word and it seemed his world had been rather badly jolted. "Naruto.. if this is a joke, it isn't very funny."

Naruto sighed, trying to hide his shock at the oh-so-painful phrase. Sasuke, before he died, had dreams that Naruto was dead. He said how he saw Naruto as a ghost and he pleaded with Naruto to reassure him that it was all a dream. Naruto didn't know if he could answer, if he could keep the pain out of his voice as responded to a question that had been long buried in the past.

He settled in the air, ignoring Sasuke's disturbed look for the moment. "Maybe you are still dreaming." He said helpfully. It was the only thing he could think of for the moment to explain things. "I mean… you don't remember me dying or anything like that… right?" He watched his friend carefully, watching for any sign of either the old Sasuke to scoff it off, or the Sasuke that was _supposed_ to be there shrug and say he wasn't alive then, but he heard the story.

His heart sank when Sasuke rolled his eyes at him. "No, you haven't managed to get yourself killed yet—although I don't know how." He stretched his arms over his chest, staring down at the unfamiliar bed sheets and his confusion increased when his gaze searched around the room. His self assured look faltered, and he licked his lips before speaking hesitatingly. "What's going on here, Naruto?" He asked quietly, trying to hide the way his voice shook.

Naruto bit his lip and reached out for Sasuke from habit, then drew back his hand when he realized it would only make things worse. "You're having a bad dream." He said finally, closing his eyes and not willing to tell Sasuke—he couldn't tell Sasuke that he died and he failed and … he just couldn't. "You need to wake up now." He was hoping that the other Sasuke would 'wake up' in a sense, that this one would go back to sleep, go wherever it was supposed to be. It wasn't fair to him.

_Who did I piss off so badly that I have to go through this again? _He wanted to cry, he wanted to escape this for just one moment, to hide away from the eyes that should be comfortable and friendly, instead of confused and angry. Eyes that shouldn't hold the pain of a life that was over a long time ago. _I was a good ninja, I took care of my village and my friends… I did my duty in protecting this estate. Why… why the hell is this happening?_ There was no answer, but he didn't really expect one.

Sasuke just gave him a confused look, shaking his head. "I meant with how I was passing out all the time, Naruto." Naruto stared as the switch was already made when he didn't notice—the old Sasuke and the current Sasuke… he stared, running one hand through his hair in a subconscious nervous gesture.

"Passing … out?" He asked cautiously. "Was this from your visit?" He phrased his words carefully, not wanting to say one thing or another, lest it do more harm than good, messed up Sasuke's head more than usual. Even if it was a different Sasuke, there were apparently some things that didn't leave when one was reborn.

Sasuke gave Naruto a weird look. "Yeah, from visiting that place called Valley of the End." He eyed Naruto as if the ghost wasn't entirely thinking in the same timeline as him. "You know—my school went to visit there?" He raised an eyebrow. "And I thought I was the one confused because I keep passing out." He swung himself out of bed and went straight to the kitchen, kneeling on the floor to rummage through the cupboards. His voice was still audible from the kitchen, but Naruto drifted closer anyhow, to keep an eye on Sasuke more than anything. "I thought Inara explained things to you."

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Well, yeah—but she looked rather startled and busy and ran out the door as soon as I removed the seal long enough for her to get back. I don't think a lot of people like going to that place." His eyes were sad, and he was glad that Sasuke wasn't paying attention to him. He noticed that Sasuke seemed to be searching for something specific in the kitchen and getting frustrated when he couldn't find it. "And what are you looking for?"

"The ramen stash, Naruto." The tone was vaguely annoyed. Naruto blinked and tried to process the sudden change, but before he could, Sasuke seemed to find something to his satisfaction and the sound of running water filled the kitchen. Well, it had been rather ironic at the time that Sasuke put the ramen he bought in the same place Naruto always stored his…

Naruto groaned and suddenly wished he did get more visitors, that someone could take a look at Sasuke and fix the parts rattling around in that head of his. Things were too surreal, it was almost as if the past didn't happen, that he never died—that things could continue on the way they did. Even if it was for such a short time, it was one of the happiest times in his life. But as he looked down at the way the light filtered through his hands, the way the place looked and how Sasuke was muttering something under his breath as he nearly vanished in the fridge getting a drink—he knew that it could never return to normal.

For the first time in a long time, Naruto felt very tired. He knew that he couldn't handle things on his own for much longer—it was time to ask for outside help in this matter. Neji could offer some advice—mostly about how Naruto was screwing up, but he didn't want to bother him again. The best thing to do was write a message to the current Hokage, and hope that there was something that could be done on his end. Naruto was fast running out of ways to keep silent about what was really going on, and he hoped there would be a way to reverse things before it came to that.

* * *

Sasuke was more aware than ever of the strange looks he got, but somehow he wasn't as bothered by them now that he had an excuse. It wasn't like he could ignore them, and Naruto had specifically asked him to deliver a message to the Hokage for him. The gennin team wouldn't be arriving for a few days, but Naruto was anxious and said that he needed this done _now_. Naruto had been acting strange ever since Sasuke had came back from his class trip.

He kept on giving Sasuke strange looks—the same ones that the gennin team gave him after he sort of lost himself and snapped Kia that one day. It wasn't as if he was acting any different, but Sasuke was starting to feel as if _he_ was the one doing something wrong—by simply being there. He caught the sad, confused looks that Naruto gave him from time to time, and it was with a sickening realization that he saw what was wrong.

He must be reminding Naruto more and more of his old friend—by simply being there. Sasuke clenched on hand around the message scroll, chest tightening at the thought. He didn't want to hurt Naruto, but he also didn't want to leave. He was finally in a place that felt like home to him—and…he shook his head. He could just be jumping to conclusions, seeing too much into it. Wasn't this the reason that Naruto didn't want him to see the picture? He told Sasuke right off that he knew he wasn't the same person and he wasn't going to act that way. He supposed that sometimes Naruto felt lonely, too.

Not that he didn't know he was lonely before, but someone who had never been liked his entire life, shunned by the village… he tried not to think about it, to remember echoing corridors, the only sounds there were his and Naruto's. He could picture it even now, surrounded by noise and laughter—to see everyone around him and so much life. It seemed unreal for the moment, yet perfectly in place at the same time.

He paused in front of the academy, eyes drifting to the empty schoolyard. Either everyone was inside, or it was a day off—he wasn't sure which. His gaze drifted to the large tree in the front of the yard, it's branches bare with the coming winter. A swing hung down from the lowest branches, the rope and the wooden board new looking. A breeze swirled by him, and for a moment, he almost saw a younger looking Naruto sitting there, eyes downcast and hands gripping a frayed rope.

The vision passed and he shook his head to clear it from any other images that might crop up. Naruto's stories of his childhood were getting to him, of when he was a young kid and barely graduated from the academy. He remembering the boasting, scornful words. "_I was twelve when I became a gennin._" His lips quirked up briefly as he left the academy grounds and headed towards his original destination. _Not without a lot of struggle._

He arrived at the Hokage Tower, the ANBU giving him a strange look, but one of them promised the message would get to the Hokage. He nodded absently at that, knowing that Naruto would want some type of confirmation as soon as possible, but the Hokage was also busy and he couldn't expect to answer every missive as soon as it came across his desk—even if it was from the ghost of the long dead Rokudaime. That reason alone was enough to set it aside, Sasuke thought privately.

It was a few moments later when the ANBU returned. "The Hokage wishes that you stay in town until he has had time to go over the message." The way he held himself reminded Sasuke of Naruto—but he never saw Naruto wearing the ANBU uniform—and it wasn't like Naruto was restricted to one outfit as a ghost. "One of us will come for you when he is ready to speak with you."

Sasuke nodded absently, already moving away from the Hokage offices. He really didn't want to stay in town—but he didn't want to go back home either until he figured out what was going on with Naruto. His eyes suddenly lit up as he realized who he could talk to. That old teammate of Naruto's—Sakura.

* * *

Sakura looked startled to see him at the door, and Sasuke felt a little ashamed at dropping on her unannounced, but her smile was warm. "Sasuke.." She murmured. He had to consciously remind himself that she was close to a hundred years old, the same as Neji. It was the fact that fact she didn't look like it that set him off balance. "Come in—I was just sitting down to have lunch."

His face flushed and he backed away slightly. "I didn't mean to interrupt at such an inconvenient time." He said quickly. "I… I just wanted to talk." It sounded lame to his own ears and he felt the need to explain further. "About Naruto…"

She ushered him in, waving off his apologies. "It's not a bad thing at all to want to come to visit." Her smile was warm and without any warning, Sasuke was settled into a chair, a cup of warm tea pushed into his hands. "You look troubled, Sasuke." Sakura's voice was caring as she sat beside him, an identical cup in her hands.

He stared down at the foamy green liquid, gaze far away. He didn't feel that it was right to dump problems on someone that was practically a stranger, but he felt like he could trust her, he wanted to drop his problems on her, because some part of him knew that she would understand. He didn't speak for several moments, and she was patient as she waited for him, supping her tea slowly.

"I.. I don't know if you know—if it got around or whatever…" His gaze was still focused on the rapidly cooling tea, and he took a quick swallow to wet his suddenly dry throat. "My class—a few days ago—was given special permission to visit some of the outlying areas around Konoha." He saw her surprise for a moment, then she nodded for him to continue. "One of the places… was the Valley of the End."

Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at him, still pink locks falling into her face as she jerked. It was clear that name evoked a reaction in her, just as it had Naruto—but Naruto hid it better. "I didn't know they were allowing people to go there." Her voice was deceptively calm as one shaking hand rested on her leg. "What did you think?"

She couldn't pull off the cheerful act as well as Naruto, who seemed to have perfected it down to an art, and her worried green eyes met Sasuke's. He was careful in the way he answered—for all the Sakura looked young, she was a lot older than her image led people to believe, and had probably been through a lot in her life. Not that she was weak or anything—but he knew some things didn't get easier as the years passed by, no matter how many of them there were.

"It was very peaceful." He said softly. "But… sad." Hands gripped the cup tighter and he couldn't quite look at her again. "Our professor told us of the battle that started the formation of Konohagakure… and…."

"Of Naruto's battle with Sasuke?" She asked quietly, her voice calm and resigned. She managed a tired smile. "It's been a long time since that happened. Sasuke left Konoha after that battle, and we didn't see him for years and years after. By then… he was so changed…" Her expression saddened. "He cared about Naruto more than anything, even during that fight—that was the whole reason for the fight, and the reason why he couldn't … not in the end…"

Sasuke could see his image in the cup, pale skin tinted green and dark eyes reflecting an unknown emotion back at himself. "The way Naruto talks, Sasuke was his only friend." He murmured, half to himself. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you… but…" His eyes didn't change as he continued to stare at the distorted image of himself. "I'm starting to wonder if my being at the… where Naruto is… is a bad thing." He murmured. "I think I bring up too many bad memories for him."

Sakura's hand closed around his own, and her smile was gentle. "Sasuke was my friend, too." She reminded him. "Even if were weren't as close as he and Naruto were." She took a long swallow of tea. "And I think that he really enjoys you being there, Sasuke. You don't bring up bad memories—memories for certain, because Naruto never forgot anything about his friends—but they're not necessarily bad memories."

Sasuke looked up at her, startled gaze meeting her calm one. "But…" His brow furrowed. "He's been giving me the weirdest looks ever since I came back from the Valley of the End." He said slowly. "As if he was afraid of how to deal with me." His look was slowly becoming frustrated. "As strange as it may sound, I count Naruto as a friend. It doesn't matter to me that he's a ghost, that I look like a friend he's had ages ago—I… I don't want to lose his friendship, but at the same time, I don't want to hurt him."

Swallowing the rest of the tea in a hurried gulp so he wouldn't have to stare at his own accusing gaze, he set the cup aside. "I don't want him to look at me and see anything that went wrong in the past, I don't want him to see me as a friend that hurt him—or one that he hurt." His bangs hid his eyes as he continued. "I don't want to be a painful reminder of his past. He'd been hurt too much when he was alive and always hid it. The idiot always hides his feelings behind that stupid smile of his…"

Sakura fiddled with her cup, gaze unreadable for a long moment before she spoke. Her words were calm and meant to be reassuring, but her mind was racing as she tried to hide her shock at how casually Sasuke spoke of Naruto's childhood—as if he knew him. It was no wonder that Naruto saw this Sasuke as their old teammate at times. "He hid his emotions around everyone, except possibly Sasuke. The fact that he's trusting you with the real parts of him shows a lot. I think he'd be very hurt if you were suddenly to leave."

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair impatiently. "Then the idiot should say something to me." He grumbled. "All powerful-dead Hokage or not, he obviously still has feelings and I think that I'd like to know if I'm the one that is bothering him, or it is something that I can help fix."

Sasuke was about to reply to that, when a knock on the door had both of their heads turning. When Sakura answered it, he could easily see the ANBU member waiting. He didn't question as to how he or she knew that he would be here, it was expected that they would know. He turned to Sakura before he left, though. "I should visit you again sometime." He said softly. "I'm sure you would like to hear more about Naruto and what's going with him." His look was unsure for a moment. "And it's nice talking with you."

Her own smile was warm as she clasped his hands in between her own. She was rapidly coming to her own conclusions, but she wouldn't say anything, do anything yet until things were proven. She had a feeling that the Hokage had some of the answers, or Naruto did—and she only hoped that whatever happened, things would end up happier for both of her friends.

* * *

When Sasuke was let into the Hokage's office, the man was pacing and barely managed to wave him into a chair. He heard various mumbles of "Why me?" and "I knew that this would come back to get me… why did it have to be me…" While the Hokage was away from the desk, Sasuke took the chance to take a closer look at the type of documents that were there, hoping to spot Naruto's letter among them. It was the only thing Sasuke could think of that would have him called in here, instead of just a normal reply given to him.

There were a few scattered items on the desk, mission reports or something close to it, a picture of a family--? No—a gennin team. One of the various scrolls had to be the message that Naruto had given to the Hokage. He peered over at it, trying to be careful about peeking at it, his mind trying to process the upside down letters.

He wasn't able to catch most of what was written there, but he did see his name and the word 'worry' his hands clenched involuntarily in his lap. How dare Naruto write about him—if there was anything that concerned him, Naruto should have talked to him about it, not just passed it off—not gone to an outside source. It concerned him, damnit! He was about to lean over and read the whole thing—forget the consequences—when the Hokage suddenly noticed where he was looking and snatched the paper up.

"Do you know what this is talking about, Sensu-san?" The Hokage gave him a curious look, which in no way dampened the shock that still lingered in his eyes. His hands were clenched around the letter, waving it about. Whatever he read there caused some kind of distress, tilted a worldview that had been rather straight before. And it was starting to piss Sasuke off that everyone was beating around the bush about it.

"No." He kept his voice carefully controlled as he sat in his place, watching the Hokage carefully. "All I know is that it has something to do with me, is that correct?" His dark eyes watched the movements of the man carefully, expression giving nothing away of what felt. It wasn't necessary to let anyone see what he felt—

"That is correct—Naruto does write about you." His look was intense as he stared at Sasuke, as if he was searching for something—expecting something to jump out at him unexpectedly. "You shouldn't be angry that Naruto went behind your back, Sensu-san." There was that weird emphasis on his name again. "He is just used to handling things on his own when it concerns the estate, and it is rather hard for him to get anything out here. I think something happened that finally made him worry a great deal about you."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at that. "What could I do that would worry him?" His voice was soft, dark eyes taking on a different look. "I live there, I go to school somewhere else—he haunts the place and never leaves. It's not like I do anything spectacularly weird or wrong, unless this is concerning those scrolls that the gennin team took away a few weeks ago."

The thought of those lost scrolls still hit him hard, and wasn't even sure why. Maybe it was the fact that Sasuke entrusted them to Naruto, and it was his fault they were taken away. It didn't seem to explain all of it, but to think of anything else was stretching things a bit. Although considering the person he shared his apartment with was a ghost…Perhaps Sasuke needed to be a little more open minded.

The Hokage continued to watch him, even as he moved to a locked cabinet in the office and pulled out several familiar looking scrolls. "Would you like these back?" He asked softly. "They really do belong at the Uchiha estate, I don't know what that team was thinking to bring them back here. I would have had them sent back a week ago, but something came up." He placed a few of the smallest scrolls in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened and his hands went out to the scrolls before he could stop himself, but he managed to draw back before he actually touched them. He gave a mental curse at his lapse, and fisted his hands in his lap to prevent anything else like that happening. "I would be grateful to have them returned." His voice was steady, he was pleased to note. "As they do belong to the Uchiha clan." His eyes narrowed briefly. "I'm sure that you already made copies of what they contained, though."

A raised eyebrow was the only thing that met the slightly accusative statement, but the Hokage didn't voice any displeasure to the rude words. "It is still jutsus that our village could use in a time of need. Granted, I don't know how well anyone will be able to learn them—it could possibly be shuffled along with the forbidden jutsus of Kage Bunshin, but as for right now, I have the only copies."

Sasuke felt himself relax at that and gave a cautious nod. He could trust the Hokage to keep the jutsus secret—until the time was right and they were needed. He did want the originals back, though. As the Hokage said—they belonged in the Uchiha household. "Thank you." It almost felt like he was thanking the thief who gave back a slightly used version of precious items because he already got their use from them, but a thanks was needed nevertheless. He wondered what Naruto would say… Naruto! That damn letter…

"Now what was in that letter?" Sasuke demanded, uncaring now of the fact he was being rude. He wanted answers—he had wanted answers since he first came here, since people first started giving him looks and treated him funny, since he had weird dreams and mood swings and a multitude of things that he couldn't begin to explain on his own.

"Naruto is worried about you—" He continued where he left off before, and Sasuke gritted his teeth at the delay. "He says that little things have happened around you, have affected you—he's worried that you being around a ghost all the time … is hurting you." There was something else and Sasuke focused his gaze on the Hokage, eyes narrowed and lips thinning out.

"Yes, he already mentioned that to me." He resisted the urge to tap his fingers on the hardwood desk—it would only make him look childish and he wasn't going to present that image of himself. "There must be something else in that letter that disturbed you so much. Does he want me gone? Am I bringing up bad memories for him?" He had to struggle to keep his voice calm—_it was never this hard before_—but kept it intense and demanding of an answer.

"No—no! Nothing like that at all." The Hokage was obviously more nervous, eyeing the contents of the letter, then Sasuke. "I don't know why I didn't pick up on the possibility before…" His thoughts wandered for a moment and only a discreet cough from Sasuke redirected his attention back to the young man waiting for an answer. "Sensu-san.. what do you think of the possibility of past lives?"


	11. Talking is Harder Than You Think

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Eleven

by: Lazuli

Standard Disclaimer applies here.

Warnings: Some bad language, some spoiler-ish type comments. Lots of conversation going on in this chapter, explanations? Maybe a boring chapter, but look at all the cool stuff that happens! Edits were made thanks to varied suggestions. Enjoy!

Added note: I can't believe I forgot to update this story here. Uh, sorry guys that were following this! I shall be uploading the rest of the story, one chapter a week. ; After I make some edits.

* * *

Sasuke gave the Hokage a confused look, anger abruptly draining away from him to be replaced by confusion. He wasn't expecting the question, and wondered what it had to do with…his eyes abruptly widened and he immediately shook his head. "No—that isn't even a possibility. Things like that don't exist!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he had an odd sense of déjà vu. Hadn't he said those words to Naruto when they first met?

The Hokage didn't immediately try and correct him, he just sat in his own chair and watched Sasuke. "I can't say for certain if it exists or not. The fact that ghosts exist—as you see with Naruto—may give credence to past lives and reincarnation. It's certainly not something I thought of before." He tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the desk. "But Naruto… he made a few observations, deduced something from what's been going on the past few months, and eventually came to this conclusion."

Sasuke's brows creased as he mulled over the possibility. He still thought that Naruto was seeing things that weren't there—to imagine that he was the reincarnation of someone he knew? It was worse than just the vague thought of Naruto seeing Sasuke as his old friend in a superficial light, but to actually think he _was_ his friend, just reborn? Sasuke's mind was open to a great deal more since he had moved here, but even that was stretching the limits a little. But the fact still remained that Naruto never said any of this to him. Ever.

He could feel the anger building, his eyes narrowing as he stood up. "If that was all the message contained…" He let his voice trail off as he met the eyes of the Hokage. "I think that I will continue this conversation with Naruto." A pause that held a multitude of emotions in it, all unvoiced or revealed. "Since he didn't see the need to discuss this with me in the first place."

"Don't be too hard on him, Sensu-san." The Hokage's own gaze was grim. "It's not exactly anything we've come across before, and Naruto was very good friends with Sasuke. I told you that they didn't have very pleasant lives, Sasuke especially. Naruto may have been wanting to hide away from that past, simply because of the pain that it represented. He said in his letter that he never wanted to drag you back into a past that no longer exists."

Sasuke snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest. "The idiot should have talked to me first." He muttered, eyes still dark and angry. There was enough space from the anger left in him to bow to the Hokage, murmuring a thank you for his time. He remembered to grab the scrolls given back to him—_were they given back to him because the Hokage really thought he was Uchiha Sasuke's reincarnation?—_and then he left, because he had a certain ghost to confront. A slow smirk appeared on his face. And it didn't look as if it was going to be pretty.

He didn't waste time stopping by Sakura's again—she probably saw him as a reincarnation as well, and kept as silent about it as Naruto did. He snarled silently to himself. He was sick and tired of all the bullshit covering up. When Sakura had seen him by the memorial stone…His breathing calmed slightly, and he slowed his pace. She said that he looked like the Sasuke she knew. She was the one that showed him the picture.

So he couldn't direct his anger at her—nor at many of the other people he encountered. The only one he wanted to be angry at—and he felt deserved it—was Naruto. Naruto was the one who tried to hide things. _Why? Why was he so determined to hide the idea from me? _

He strode past the grounds of the Academy, the outlying areas of town, and went straight to the Uchiha estates without stopping. His hands never let go of the scrolls he was given, and his eyes never turned away from his target. He and Naruto needed to talk.

* * *

Naruto had to be waiting for Sasuke to return—he would know the moment Sasuke stepped on the grounds—some time of warning system or whatever the hell Naruto set up. "Get your ghostly ass out here, Uzumaki!" Sasuke's angry shout echoed throughout the empty rooms.

"Gee, since you asked so nicely…" Naruto eyed him. He was looking and acting more like the past Sasuke, and the bitter anger in his eyes was completely of the past, he was certain. Not that he ever saw the future incarnation really get angry, but he had seen this anger before, felt it directed at him. "Did you have a nice talk with the Hokage?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed even further at that and the anger practically crackled around him. _Good job, Naruto. Piss him off more. Good thing you're already dead and he doesn't have any chakra to use._

"Yes… I had a very interesting talk with him." Sasuke's voice practically growled out the words. "He told me of the message you sent him--" He took a deep breath, eyes closing for a moment as he tried to rein in his anger. It didn't work. "Why the hell didn't you tell me, Naruto?" He demanded. "Did it ever occur to you that I might be concerned over how stupid you were acting? That if it concerned me, I may want to know what the fuck was going through your head?"

Naruto jerked as if hit, his own eyes narrowing. "Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want you to know? That I was seeing things that weren't there and it was _in the past_?" He hissed out. "Uchiha Sasuke died eighty years ago. He has _nothing_ to do with you. If you were ever him, it's gone!" He raked a hand through his hair, the strands mussing underneath his fingers. It wasn't as if everything was static about him while he was a ghost. He could at least affect things about himself. "You're deluding yourself to even think you're like him."

"How do you know it's gone, Naruto?" Sasuke demanded, one hand still clutching the scrolls to him, eyes intense as ever. "Did you ever question me as to what I saw or dreamt? What I felt when I was at the Valley of the End?" His breathing sounded harsh to his own ears. "Who I saw in my dreams?"

Naruto's face turned away, hands dropping to his sides. "What you choose to see is your own business, Sasuke. Like I said—it's in the past. It's not a past that I would bring up and one that you don't need to think about. Past lives aren't meant to be remembered." His shoulders drooped slightly. "There's a very good reason for that."

Sasuke wasn't going to stand for any of it, and he marched up to Naruto, scrolls tumbling out of his hands as he faced the ghost—Naruto obviously didn't want to leave entirely yet, or else he would have vanished by now. Perhaps he didn't want to be seen as a coward. Sasuke sneered at how self righteous he was acting.

"Really, now?" Sasuke's voice was low and he met Naruto's gaze easily. "I'm not even sure I believe in this whole past life nonsense, but what reason did you have for keeping it from me? Did you think that I would believe you and want to leave? Wasn't that your intention in the first place? To get rid of me?"

Naruto growled at him, one hand clenching at his side. Only Sasuke was ever able to get him this angry—dead or alive, reincarnated or not—only Sasuke managed to hit all the wrong buttons. "What the hell did you want me to say?" He snapped. "Yeah…you not only look like the only friend I had, but … get this—you _are_ him—or at least you were in a past life." Rolling his eyes, Naruto gave Sasuke a dry look. "Honestly, do you hear how stupid that sounds? You wouldn't have believed me and quite possibly been hurt by the assumption. I didn't want you to find out because I rather liked having you around!"

"Is our friendship in the past so trivial that you couldn't tell, couldn't trust me to see it objectively?" Sasuke demanded. "Or did you just screw up so badly in your life that you were too chicken to try again and hide away all thoughts of it?" He sneered at Naruto. "What if I _was_ him, Naruto? Is that what you want?"

"If it was you, then the key word is 'was'. It's not you any longer. You didn't have Sasuke's painful childhood, you weren't stuck with just me as a friend. Sasuke was the only friend I ever had, you selfish asshole and I almost gave _up_ my dream for him. It he didn't yell and me and call me a moron for doing so, I would have."

Sasuke arms crossed over his chest but he was unable to think of a reply to that. After all, he didn't believe any of this crap, but something told him that Naruto did. "You still should have told me." He said stubbornly. "It may have made the dreams I had make more sense, or explained why I'm so attached to these." His foot prodded one of the fallen scrolls. Maybe he would humor Naruto and get some answers out of it in the meantime.

"Now you know." He snapped. "Whatever you chose to make out of it, it's entirely up to you. If you believe you were Uchiha Sasuke, fine. If you think it's complete nonsense, that's fine to. I don't really give a shit anymore. I tried to help you by giving the letter to the Hokage. He was supposed to find a way to reverse whatever the hell is going on with you. Did you think I was blind to not notice anything? Your stubborn self refused to ask for help or tell me a damn thing!"

"I thought I was going crazy!" Sasuke frowned at him, suddenly tired and not as angry anymore, one hand rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. "Or just affected by all your talk about your childhood and some things you told me about your friend." He slumped against the wall. "I think we're both acting like idiots, Naruto. You think I'm some dead friend of yours, and I don't know what the hell to think anymore. Maybe it is just because I'm stuck in an empty house with a ghost."

Naruto gave a short laugh, but the amusement never reached his eyes. "Maybe we both are." He moved towards the living room and Sasuke followed, stopping to absently collect the scrolls again. Naruto smiled to himself. At least he had those back—it was one less thing he had to beg forgiveness for. He and Sasuke had to have a serious talk, though. It was long overdue.

Sasuke followed him willingly enough, but a raised eyebrow was all Naruto got when he pointed Sasuke toward a chair. "Look—I can force you to sit down, to shut up and listen to me—but I need you to respond as well. I'll admit that I made a mistake by not saying anything for so long, but you also made a mistake by not telling me what was going on in your head as well. Now—we need to talk. Do you agree?"

Sasuke snorted. "Were you always this arrogant in your life, Naruto?" He asked dryly, but still sat down, movements strangely graceful. "I agree that we need to talk. I knew we needed to talk a long time ago." He ran a hand through his hair absently. "But what do you want me to say, Naruto?" He asked softly. "What do you want me to admit, to what I think I've seen? You know that already I am not him and it is your past, not mine." He snorted. "And do you want to bring up things that you decided you never wanted me to hear, that you constantly hid from me? Make up your mind, dobe."

"You think this is easy for me?" Naruto shot back. "I've been here for eighty years, moron, without any major disturbances. I haven't had to face my past yet. I figured I'd just do my duty here and hoped that one day I'd be free of it." His eyes flicked away. "I … I always wanted 

to apologize to Sasuke—that was one of the few regrets I had, other than not being able to live long enough to guard my village the way I wanted to."

Sasuke felt slightly uncomfortable at that, staring down at his hands. "I don't know what happened at the end …" He ignored Naruto's 'You don't want to know' and went on. "But I've had odd little dreams …" His eyes met Naruto's, and there was an incredible confusion there, and anger at the confusion.

Naruto's gaze turned intense at that. He was aware that Sasuke had some bad dreams, but he wasn't exactly aware of what went on, besides the fact that 'brother' was mentioned. And he certainly wasn't going to jump to any conclusions concerning _that._ The point was to try and suppress any memories that came up, not encourage them. He couldn't help but ask, though—if Sasuke felt guilty about anything, then it would be good to clarify what he felt guilty about. Considering the last place Sasuke visited of significant interest was the Valley of the End—"What do you mean?"

Sasuke made a face. "It's hard to explain—it's not long things are spelled out for me or anything, and any dreams I have fade too quick for me to really remember anything." Chewing on his lip in a decidedly un-Sasuke like manner, he tried to articulate. "I had flashes of… fighting you when I was at the Valley of the End. Nothing really clear.. just…" His brow furrowed. "It was like I was holding lightning in my hands."

Naruto nodded at that, face solemn. That episode of his life didn't bother him so much anymore—it had been a long time for him, more than a lifetime ago. "That happened." He said shortly, not wanting to give a great deal of explanation, but the pressure of Sasuke's gaze was as intense as it ever was. His lips turned up in a crooked smile. "Sasuke tried to kill me." _Oops, don't think I meant to be that blunt._

Sasuke's eyes widened briefly, then he nodded slowly. "I've heard that certain places hold memories of things, like ghosts—" He tilted his head. "Somehow that's more plausible to me than thinking I was reborn or something like that." He tilted his head. "But Sasuke didn't kill you then." It was almost a question and Naruto laughed at that, but it was slightly pained.

"No, Sasuke never managed to kill me at all." He was barely admit to himself, that this Sasuke was the other Sasuke. Was the Sasuke that he knew so well. They were still too different in his mind and he wasn't going to further this and hurt Sasuke more. "I think that… some part of him realized that we were still friends, and he didn't want to let go of that. For all the fan girls that followed him around, he didn't have any real friends, except me."

"But he was giving that all up." Sasuke argued. "He knew that he had to give up everything, sacrifice everything to reach his goal. Even to destroy his best friend.." His voice was slightly far away. "To take away the one link that would draw him back, to hold him back from his goal." His eyes met Naruto's startled gaze and he scowled. "You were an idiot not to realize that. Did you hate Sasuke for it afterward?"

"You're an idiot." Naruto snorted. "I told you that I understood Sasuke. I wasn't happy that he tried to leave…" There was the bitterness that he thought had left a long time ago. "To put it lightly. I almost killed him to keep him here.. but when he left—" Naruto shrugged. "I never hated Sasuke—never--!" His look was fierce as he tried to make this reincarnation that barely understood a past that he once lived. "I went after him right away, trained to be stronger so I could bring him back next time. I never gave up on him."

"Hn." It was the most Sasuke-like sound that Naruto had heard yet, and it strangely comforted him. The little gestures, tone of voice—words that he used—none of them actually got to him as much as that little grunt of a sound, that conveyed so much of what Sasuke was thinking without him actually saying anything.

It was silent for a short while after that, Naruto not sure what to say next, Sasuke not volunteering any information. Each was lost in their own thoughts, the images conjured up by Naruto's vehement denial of having ever hated Sasuke. Maybe at one point—when they were young—he disliked him. He disliked the way he acted, the arrogant way he held himself, and most of all—the way he ignored all gestures of friendship offered to him. But he never hated him.

"Sometimes… " Naruto's head jerked up at Sasuke's voice. "Sometimes I see things in the room differently than they are now. Different furniture—the way things are set up—" He shrugged. "Like.. expecting there to be a low table over there—" His hand gestured. "Or a stack of weapons there." His eyes closed for a moment, and when he looked back at Naruto, there was almost a pleading expression in them. "I thought I was going crazy, I didn't know what to say or 

do. I still think I'm going crazy." It was the closest that he would come to admitting that he might believe in reincarnation.

His attitude was quite a change from before, and Naruto felt sorry for Sasuke at what he was going through. The intense mood swings, the tenacious grasp on a crumbling reality. What was real and what wasn't? Were ghosts real? What about Konoha … memories were supposed to be personal and real and almost solid—but even now—Naruto didn't know what to say or do to help him—except offer one thing.

The keys to his past.

* * *

It was only fair to Sasuke to give a little more information—and maybe if he knew it, he'd understand better and actually listen to his senses. "Sasuke… there is one more thing that you should know before we go any further into learning about the past or what we should do." His gaze flicked away for a brief moment. "You remember when Neji came over?"

"The one with those weird blank eyes?" Sasuke blinked. "Yeah… I remember. He kept on giving me…" He groaned. "Strange looks like everyone else. What does he have to do with anything concerning us?"

"He said that it's my fault that you're having these dreams, these feelings.." Naruto said carefully. "That there are two personalities within you… and that the more time you spend with me, the more your current self gets taken over from the actions and personality from the other person…in you.." He clasped his hands together and watched Sasuke. This was the moment of truth—if Sasuke wanted to go any further with this…

Sasuke snorted. "It's a bit late for that, isn't it?" He asked dryly. "It's already happening, Naruto—and I don't want to leave just because I'm scared of some theory your weird friends cooked up between yourselves. I want to know what I am dealing with, so I can handle it better." His eyes were serious and his tone was unrelenting. "If the 'other' personality that's showing up is acting like your friend because of your proximity—it stands to reason that I need to know about this friend of yours."

Naruto rubbed a hand over his face, trying to collect himself. Sasuke still didn't believe in the possibility of a past life—not really at least—which could seriously work to his advantage. He would treat it like Sasuke saw it—like he was posing it as. An alternate personality. Hell, those were explained by doctors, weren't they?

"What do you want to know about Uchiha Sasuke?" Naruto finally asked, just giving up for the moment. He didn't want to delve further into this, lest it cause more problems, but it would help put some of the things he experienced into perspective. "You tell me a dream or feeling you had, and I'll try and explain it." It would work better that way. Naruto not giving away anymore than Sasuke already 'remembered', and thus not adding more to an already overwhelming pile of confusing emotions and memories. _Not that Sasuke sees them as memories, but it's not the point._

Sasuke eyed him, not quite sure if he should believe or even take Naruto up on his offer, but he'd been wanting answers since he first came here, and the small dribbles he was offered previously only made him want more. It only added to the desire to grasp onto something that made sense. "Fine." He said shortly. It was best to get the worst dream out of the way, the one that if he closed his eyes, he could still see it, still feel the fear that clawed at him. "Who was Itachi?"

Naruto hissed lowly at the name. "I should have seen that one coming." He muttered. "Remember what I told you when you first came here? About.. well, Sasuke?" He asked carefully. That really hadn't been the brightest move at the time, now that he looked back at it. "About what happened to make this place so… empty?"

Sasuke nodded slowly, then his eyes widened as a few more of the pieces fell into place. Maybe he just didn't want to think about it before, maybe the cycle of rebirth had been kind in some respects and blocked it from him. "Itachi killed the family." His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. "I dreamt of it… " His eyes never left Naruto's. "Itachi spoke to me in that dream."

Naruto flinched. "That's not a happy thing to remember." He muttered. "Itachi was a real sick bastard." One hand clenched and unclenched. "He was the reason why Sasuke was so driven, so determined to be stronger than anyone else—so he could defeat him." A short pause. "Even at the cost of breaking away from everyone that he knew. His only goal was to defeat Itachi. I think… sometimes.. he wanted to die after that."

"Well, wouldn't you want to?" Sasuke gave him an irritated look. "He would have given up everything, including his honor—how could he know that anyone would accept him back, would trust him? There wouldn't be anything left for him. Honor … was everything." He stared at his hands. "How could he face the one that was his rival in everything and helped him grow stronger by simply being there? He abused his trust the most." His eyes flicked upward again. "Your trust."

"You have a point." Naruto raised an eyebrow and didn't comment on how Sasuke was acting like it was himself, and not some 'other person.' "But he did what he needed to do, what he felt was right. Why didn't he kill me at the end? Maybe he wanted to leave me because he knew that I would eventually bring him back—or he knew there would be at least someone waiting for him." That was what Sasuke had told him, at least, when Naruto had asked. He wondered why Sasuke didn't kill him, and he said that 'he wanted someone to be waiting for him, even if it was just a dobe like him.'

"He doesn't seem like a very good person." There was a faint, bitter smile on his face. "At least, not one that's done a great deal of actions to be proud of." He tilted his head. "How were you able to forgive him when he came back? You said that he tried to kill you—he who was your only friend, the only one you ever trusted."

"He did a lot of good stuff, too." Naruto argued. "He wasn't a _bad_ person. He was my teammate and friend and saved my life more times than I can count. I never asked for his help, but he was always there. We were both stubborn and hurt and we reacted to each other in the only ways that we knew. For as much as he was a jerk at times—he was still good, deep down."

"You sound like you want your old friend back, Naruto." Sasuke said softly. "You still miss him and I'm hardly enough like him to provide a proper replacement. I don't have any ninja skills, I don't possess any chakra—" Naruto glared at him, anger effective and almost visible enough to make him falter in his words, but he continued after a moment. "I don't believe in past lives or second chances." His voice was flat. "I'm just me."

"You're more of an idiot than I ever was." Naruto shook his head. "Jeez, when did I ever say that I wanted that arrogant ass back? I told you from the beginning. That's why I didn't tell you any of this, of what I thought. Maybe I was wrong—maybe I'm still wrong. I don't know 

why you have dreams that were once things he experienced. It's not normal."

"But if ghosts are involved in it?" Sasuke questioned. "If the ghost of the only friend that this Sasuke ever had is in a place that held such strong memories?" Sasuke's gaze was intense and probing. "Apparently, _something_ went wrong, Naruto. It's up to you what you want to do with this chance."

"I want you to live your life, Sasuke." Naruto put a bright smile on his face, the expression so practiced—even in death—that he was able to make it look entirely convincing. It helped that most of what he spoke was true, what he felt was almost-real. "You deserve to have a normal life, and I'm screwing it up for you." His look didn't waver.

"What if I came here for a reason?" Naruto's smile nearly dropped at the unwavering gaze. "What if there was a purpose to me returning here?" He persisted. "How much of my returning here, to a place that a different Sasuke lived a lifetime ago—is a coincidence?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Didn't Sakura say that when she visited here? You threw out the idea entirely, yet—what if it's true?"

"Sakura doesn't know everything!" Naruto shouted. "Nobody knows anything about these types of things and how they work—and…" Naruto collected himself. "It has to be a coincidence that you came here." Naruto meant that to come out more strong, more confidently than the almost unsure reply. "It has to be—because… unless…." His head bowed for a moment. "I think I expected Sasuke's ghost to come to bitch at me for how I messed up in the end, how I managed to still kill myself, and instead I get another person with his name that occasionally acts like him. Maybe it's his way of saying I can't live in the past." He paused. "Even after he…"

"Even after Sasuke died to save you?" Naruto's startled gaze met his own, and Sasuke waved any protests off. "I haven't dreamt of _that._" He said sourly. "But that was one of the things Itachi taunted me with. Saying how worthless it was that I saved you, when you died only a few years after." He made a face. "This Itachi person probably thought I was his brother or something weird like this… I don't know how the hell dreams work." He sighed. "What happened with that, Naruto? Why did you die… Why did you go do something stupid like that?"

Naruto 'stood up', glaring down at Sasuke. "That is my own business." He said shortly. "There was no other way to save Konoha. If you think I did it for some stupid reason like following Sasuke to wherever the hell he went after he died—then you're wrong. The damn fox was getting out of control and I had to stop him the only way I possibly could."

Sasuke didn't react to his anger, just stared at him with that same, calm look that always infuriated Naruto from when he first met him. "I see…" His voice was still that odd calm. "So you didn't ever want to be around him again?" There seemed to be a type of question in there that went more than just the surface, but Naruto didn't even falter.

"You don't have to twist my words around." He groused. "I wanted him around—that's why I brought him back, that's why I stayed with him. I guarded him and kept him company. I rebuilt my friendship with him and…" He abruptly stopped talking. "Anyways—I did want him around, but I'm not going to ask for him to be returned at the loss of your current life, personality, or sanity."

He continued, voice almost as carefully controlled as Sasuke's. "I've done many things that I haven't been proud of. Both in duty and as a person. But I'm not going to purposely destroy someone just to get someone else back. It doesn't work that way." He grimaced faintly. "That was how Sasuke was—he was so blinded to his goal, to his desire that everything else became encumbering shadows to him. It's not fair to do that to you."

"It's my choice." Sasuke said stubbornly. "If I came back here … I'm going to stay here." You're not going to step in my way like you did Sasuke's, if this was the path I was meant to take." His eyes darkened even further, and Naruto was suddenly very aware of the meaning of Neji's warnings concerning Sasuke regaining more of his past, of his memories of a time that happened before. The anger was gone a moment later and Sasuke was calm again. "Let's just take this one step at a time, shall we?"

Naruto nodded, wishing that none of this had happened, that he didn't know that it was inevitable that it would come to this point. He wanted nothing more than to protect those he cared about, and Sasuke was number one on that list. He only hoped—prayed even—that Sasuke wouldn't ask more questions that Naruto was prepared to answer. There were some things that Naruto didn't want to reveal to him at the moment, if ever. It would be too cruel to him, if Sasuke didn't actually remember and was just told something point blank.

He also hoped that Neji's mind was wandering when he suggested that Sasuke's chakra could come back as well if he regained enough of his memories. They didn't need to deal with the consequences of him with access to that power again. Especially with the volatile jutsu that he now had access to. Some things were not meant to be relived again.


	12. Whose Memories Are These?

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Twelve

By: Lazuli

PG

Disclaimers apply, etc. No real warnings or pairings.

Sasuke was left alone for once, Naruto uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn, retreating to other parts of the grounds or doing who-knew-what. After their confrontation the other day, and despite their pledge to just take it easy, one day at a time—Naruto had virtually vanished. Sasuke couldn't 'feel' his presence, he never saw him—in short, Sasuke was effectively alone in the house. And it felt strange, not right.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was what he wanted in the first place, when he first moved to the apartments—but after he'd gotten to know Naruto, after he saw what he was like—after they became friends—the silence now was overpowering. It was almost painful in its intensity, but all the calling in the world wasn't bringing Naruto out from wherever he was hiding. He refused to believe that Naruto left for good.

Buried in his closet, he shuffled a few things around, and his lips compressed in an annoyed line when he noticed the faintly damaged looking board. He hoped that the floor wouldn't collapse in this apartment—Naruto said he had concentrated most of his energy on keeping this place preserved, even if the rest of the apartment complex had been falling apart. He pushed down on the board, and his eyes widened at the compartment that slid open in front of him. _What the hell?_ Sasuke carefully slid his hands in to check as to what was in there, and pulled out a small metal box a moment later.

The lock on it was rusty, and Sasuke pried it off easily, hands trembling slightly. This was something new; this was something he found on his own. There wasn't a lot in the box, but the first of the items was a set of pictures. He lifted them out carefully, mindful of how old they must have been, and untied the string holding them together.

The first of the pictures was of Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke—an older picture of Sasuke—one that looked to be his age, instead of the teenage one he saw before. It was taken in the bedroom, Sasuke sitting on the edge of the bed, and Naruto standing beside him, one hand resting on Sasuke's shoulder. He was wearing the ANBU uniform that Sasuke had seen only the guards of the Hokage wear, and his other hand loosely held a mask. Sasuke looked sullen and Naruto was serious, and he wondered what prompted this picture of the two of them. Neither of them looked happy. Judging by what Naruto had told him—it must have been around the time when he was Sasuke's guard.

The second picture was more promising, as if enough time had passed by where they had gotten to know each other again, or perhaps someone caught them in a moment where they didn't need to worry about appearances. Sasuke certainly looked healthier in the picture and not so tense—the fact that both of them were outside had to contribute to that. The slant of the sunlight on Naruto's features seemed to add a glow to his hair, even in the picture, and Naruto was smiling and poking Sasuke in the side. The dark haired boy was turned to Naruto and giving him an impassive look. There was something about his eyes, though, that showed more emotion than his face did, as if he allowed himself that one small concession and nothing more. Something in the way they stood next to each other showed some type of tie—an understanding.

There was a single picture of Naruto, eyes crossed and making a face at the camera—a younger Naruto. He wondered in brief amusement how Sasuke got a hold of that picture, or who Naruto was posing for. In a cracked frame was Sasuke's version of the Team 7 picture. The picture itself was slightly wrinkled as if the owner had taken it out of its frame at one point and to hold it tightly between clenched hands.

Then there was a set of pictures that made his heart stutter in his chest. It was a younger Sasuke, being carried on the shoulders of a man that he only saw in dreams—the one that held the gleaming sword, who's red eyes peered into his own. "Itachi…." He murmured, eyes narrowing unconsciously. Was there any sign in this picture of the person he would become? The younger Sasuke seemed actually happy to be around his shoulders, leaning forward slightly with a small smile on his face. This picture was marred as well, torn at the corner but not ripped all the way through, the tear stopping short of Itachi's face.

The next picture was a family picture—of a young woman and man—and Itachi and the younger Sasuke. The hand that wasn't holding the picture clenched painfully at his side, not knowing why he wanted to just keep it with him, why his chest ached when he looked at the family that had no idea of what was in store for them. Of something so stable, so brutally torn away. They seemed happy there—normal or well adjusted. He knew pictures didn't show all, but this Sasuke was so young—but he knew that this was the last picture of this family together, of the couple smiling, standing near their children. Before Itachi had ruined it all, before a young child became so consumed by the need to avenge that he lost sight of what made him happy.

He continued to stare at the picture, eyes blurry with unshed tears.

* * *

_"Sasuke—Sasuke where are you?" Sasuke carefully hid his box away and stood up, brushing his hands off and hiding any signs of the hiding place. Satisfied that it wouldn't be ferreted out by anyone, he left his room, answering the call of his mother. _

_ She was in the kitchen, directing one of the cooks in some meal, but when he stepped in the room, she smiled. "You've been hiding away all day in your room. Trying to exhaust yourself studying again?" Sasuke made a face and snatched one of the dango from a plate on the table. "You have to get ready for when Itachi comes." It was then Sasuke realized the dango on the table had to be for Itachi, the meal she was putting such attention to was for Itachi as well. _

_ "I want to study, Mother." Sasuke's dark eyes met hers seriously. "I want to be as smart as Itachi." Swallowing the dango quickly, Sasuke smiled. "Do you think that he'll have time today to teach me shuriken throwing?" If he became as good as Itachi, she would look his way as well. She would see him and be proud of him. _

_ His mother grew solemn. "Not today, Sasuke. Itachi is very busy doing a mission for the Hokage. He'll be back later today, but I'm sure that he'll be very tired and won't have the time to play with you." She patted him on the head absently. _

_ Sasuke's face turned down in a pout. "It's not playing!" He protested. "He should try and train with me. That way I can learn faster and be just like him!" He ate another dango, frowning now. He didn't care if they were for Itachi "He never spends any time with me anymore, and whenever he comes home, you always forget I'm here." _

_He ignored his mothers call as he ran out of the kitchen. It was always Itachi! Itachi was the best, Itachi graduated from the academy at the same time Sasuke would start it. Sasuke scowled and kicked at the wall lightly. It wasn't fair. Someday he would be as good at Itachi, and then his brother would have to pay attention to him._

* * *

Sasuke rubbed his head as he put the pictures down beside the box, biting his lip. It was happening again—wasn't there some fancy name for what he was going through? And not all that stupid past life crap that Naruto talked about—pyschometry… that's what it was. Not that he believed in any psychic powers before, but it made a hell of a lot more sense than being the reincarnation of a ghost's friend.

There were more objects in the box besides the pictures, and he gently set aside a set of small shuriken, a kunai—and something that almost looked like a journal or a notebook. He set everything aside, and debated opening the notebook. It might be private, but as he pointed out to Naruto ages ago—everyone that was connected to this place was dead, and it didn't hurt to go through it now. _And he already thinks I'm this other Sasuke that he knew. I should be allowed to._

He flipped it over to the first page, smiling faintly at the series of notes written in a precise hand. They were written by a child, obviously—and one that was just starting school of some sort—the Academy? It listed techniques and abilities—it had observations of people—as the time went by they became more precise. It wrote about the different bloodlines—a small note and a question connecting the Hyuuga family and the Uchiha family. Curious questions, but dedicated and driven—_Apparently Itachi was a driving force even before he went nuts._

He idly flipped through the pages, eyes skimming over the contents until the entries abruptly changed—it was not notes for a few pages, but angry words—questions…This had to be the point where Sasuke's life fell apart, where everything was taken from him in one brutal stroke.

_Why… why did Itachi do it? Mother… Father… everyone. Because of him…I need to defeat Itachi. I'm going to be stronger than him. I'm going to avenge everyone. I'm going to train, going to surpass everyone. Itachi can't accuse me of being weak anymore._

Even after that point, other parts of the notebook were still filled with notes—the pen that was used to write the words pushed into the paper hard, as if every word needed to be committed to memory, that if he pressed hard enough, it would give him the strength that he needed. The detail of the lessons received increased, At random parts, especially during certain techniques, items mentioned—there would be additions to the lessons, putting together the information with the intended goal.

_Chakra development—must control all that I have so that I can defeat him. He's already strong. Need to get stronger. What triggers the Sharingan? It is my family's legacy and I will make sure I develop it soon, I will make it stronger than Itachi's ever was. I still have the family's scrolls—I will study our family's jutsus, I won't let anyone else have them. They are mine now—I am the only Uchiha left. Itachi lost the right to that name when he committed his act. _

He could see the drive that Sasuke had, the intent that he carried since he was eight and everything was taken away from him. And then he saw little notes about Naruto interspersed throughout the notebook as well. Naruto was the only name he mentioned, as if Naruto was the only person he saw in his world, besides the never-wavering view of his brother. Sasuke saw something in Naruto—there was an odd note about Naruto being an orphan as well, his observations picked up on how people treated him.

_Uzumaki Naruto… stupid, lazy—but I can see he's strong. He's dumb, though. Never does things right—I heard he was in this class before me. Before me! They accepted someone like him. But he's failed before. Failed… if I was in the class before, I would have succeeded. I would have been closer to my goal. Why doesn't he try harder? I can see how people look at him—he's stupid if he thinks that he needs to fall to their expectations. Paying attention to how people see you is stupid._

Sasuke bit his lip and looked down at the hastily scrawled words, intermixed with techniques and rules and jutsus—of a life of a person that had one goal in mind—but managed to see something outside the spectrum of that narrow tunnel. Apparently Naruto wasn't lying when he saw that he and Sasuke were probably each others only friends. _But I don't exactly feel comfortable prying too much into the lonely childhood that Naruto had._

The notes seemed to drop off a little once Sasuke graduated and he was on a team with Naruto and Sakura—his only comments on that was of how annoying Sakura was and how Naruto would just get in his way of achieving his goal. He didn't specify how at the time, just that something about Naruto was always on the edge of his senses—and for the Sasuke at that moment, it was bad—he couldn't afford distractions.

_Naruto is always there, always loud and obnoxious—but he's strong, just like I thought before. He can actually think once in a while and has good ideas. Most of them are stupid like he is, but there is a core of power there. I want to know more about it._

Another entry talked about the first, real mission any of them had—one that was supposed to be a simple, low rank mission that blew up out of their control—but Sasuke wanted it, needed it. He was never frightened about what was going on during the course of the mission. The only time that changed was near the end of the mission—

_The idiot almost got me killed, almost made me lose sight of my goal. I knew Naruto would do something to get in my way, Why I moved to save him, I still don't know. If it was out of duty or impulse—maybe something else that I still can't figure out. _

Sasuke put the notebook down for the moment, gathering up some of the smaller items and putting them away. He only kept on the notebook and the pictures, telling himself that he'd show Naruto the pictures at least—he was certain that the blond had never seen them before—except for the team picture, of course—and would appreciate them. Sasuke smiled as he gathered them up. He didn't need to be this old Sasuke to return something of him to Naruto.

* * *

Naruto still wasn't anywhere to be found, and as much as Sasuke wanted to stick around and ferret out the now-reclusive ghost, he realized that he had a life outside of the complex. It was weird to think of—surreal and the thought of going to the university was like trying to interpret his dreams. He almost dreaded going back to the classes and hoped the brief vacation they had would let the memories of how he passed out that day fade from this classmates minds.

But as he walked through the halls of the school, he found the memory of the event didn't fade and the whispers surrounded him. It was worse than Konoha—at least they tried to hide the fact they were talking about him. He was getting a little pissed at how direct everyone was acting, how the words seemed especially directed at him with no regard for how he felt about it.

"He's the one…." Another voice reached his ears and he gritted his teeth. "I think he's possessed or something. You know that he lives near where Konoha is?" The girl was obviously talking to her companion, and the high pitched tones as well as the topic of the conversation was starting to push at the wrong buttons with him. "I mean… those shinobi are pretty scary. What if he's one in disguise?"

Sasuke had quite enough of that, and he slammed his books on the table next to the girls, glaring at them, dark eyes narrowed. "It's rude to talk about being when you believe they are not there." He murmured. "But it's even ruder to do so when they are in hearing distance and you know your words will reach them."

Their eyes grew wide as his glare increased, and he was almost amused at the way their skin paled. "We…we're sorry!" The shorter girl babbled. "We really didn't mean to offend you.. it's just… like … everyone has been talking about you and…" She gulped nervously. "Well, there are lots of creepy stuff said about that area! Ghosts and everything. I just thought the ghost did something weird to you and…." Her eyes widened behind the lenses of her glasses when Sasuke's look focused directly on her.

"You shouldn't speak of Naruto that way." His voice was perfectly calm, reasonable. "Why it's…. sweet…that you worried about him 'doing something' to me, you're way off the mark." His gaze turned far away for the moment, and it was as if he wasn't speaking to the girls but to himself "I did something to him…and I need to correct it." Without another word or a goodbye, he turned around and left, not knowing that the scene would cause the rumors to increase even more.

His professor wasn't as bad, he just asked a simple question of how Sasuke was doing, and if there was anything he could do about it. It didn't grate on his nerves quite as badly—after all, he was certain the professor actually meant well, but he didn't want to deal with it at all. He decided the best avenue of defense would be to take his assignments and hide out in the library.

Kuri found him there., finally having found a spot where he could study and not be bothered by people whispering about him all the time. "You're still quite the celebrity, no matter where you go." Her cheerful voice didn't annoy him, even if she was talking about the same thing everyone on campus was chattering about.

He grimaced and hid his face in his book for a moment. "You have no idea." He muttered. "It wasn't like passing out is any big deal… but I guess I did it in a rather spectacular way." He turned his head enough so he could look at her. "Does the Uchiha estate really have such a fantastic reputation even outside of Konoha?" He asked dryly. "Apparently it is not only haunted, but the site of demon activity, can possess people—will make them crazy, is scheduled to be taken over as an alien base…." He rolled his eyes but Kuri only laughed.

"Whenever something weird happens, people tend to blame it on the shinobi." She explained. "And you passed out in what is technically Konoha boundaries…" She shrugged. "Plus you live at one of the more…talked about places." Her smile was rueful and she patted his shoulder. "It'll suck for awhile, but then somebody will catch the new graduates climbing trees or something and you'll be forgotten."

He blinked, not getting what climbing trees had to do with anything, but he didn't question. "Glad to know it'll go away eventually." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Things have been getting weirder—not that I'd admit that to anyone else." He felt like he could trust Kuri—she was a great listener and her family came from Konoha—it was like there was a vague kinship there.

Her eyes widened at that. "Is Naruto showing up more?" She questioned. He was startled—he had forgotten that she didn't know how good of friends he and Naruto were now. She only knew Naruto as hardly showing himself to anyone—that he didn't like getting close to anyone. Sasuke suddenly realized that was the situation now—Naruto was hiding himself away, so that even Sasuke couldn't sense him near.

Sasuke gave a faint smile and shut his book, focusing more of his attention on Kuri. "Yeah.. for awhile he was showing up more." He gave a quick, edited version of how he and Naruto interacted with each other, but his eyes were shadowed. "But he's not around now, and that worries me. We…we're friends." He explained. "At least I thought we were. I think I did something to hurt him and now he's avoiding me."

She bit her lip, unsure of how to respond to that. "Naruto… from what I remember my family saying of him—he was a very lonely person. Maybe some things happened that made him want to be alone again. I'm sure you're still friends, Sasuke. Just give him some time alone. Things will sort themselves out." She glanced down at her watch absently. "We better get to our classes—" She grinned. "Unless you plan to hide out here until everything dies down."

Sasuke just made a face as he gathered his books together. "If I keep on running from it, it'll only get worse." He said logically. "Might as well confront it head on and deal with the consequences later."

She laughed and gathered her own stuff together, walking with him to their shared class. "That's the spirit, Sasuke. All you have to do is gather the strength to confront your problems and the rest will work itself out." And even though she only meant the immediate problem of the rumors circulating around the small campus, it suddenly took on a whole new dimension.

* * *

When he arrived home, his eyebrows rose at the sounds of the gennin team working in one of the empty buildings. He didn't remember giving them permission to work today, and it was strange for them to come when no one was around…His brow furrowed. Or had the contract said for them to come until they completed their work? He nearly jumped out of his skin when someone's hand landed on his shoulder.

It was only Shiba, but the man moved so silently that Sasuke never heard him coming. "Naruto made arrangements earlier for us to be here." He explained. "In case you were wondering why we were here today." His gaze flicked over the empty buildings, the shadows falling strangely over the ground. "We've made pretty good progress and if you would like to check over some of what we've worked on—I'd appreciate that."

Sasuke nodded absently, heart calming down from the shock. Even if he was surrounded by people at school, he was used to it being quiet here. He wasn't used to contact in his home—he knew it as being empty. "Let me put my books away and I'll check it out." He tried to make his tone casual as he walked with Shiba towards the main residence. "Have you seen Naruto today?"

Shiba shook his head. "No—he usually doesn't show up on his own. He'll leave messages for us, but I think the only times he really shows himself is when you're around." He tilted his head and observed Sasuke. "You must have made quite an impression on him." He didn't bring up what half of Konoha suspected, he didn't talk about how much he looked like or acted like a Sasuke that had died long ago. "Stick around, Sensu-san. You're good for someone like Naruto."

Everyone kept on saying that, but Sasuke was starting to have his doubts. He placed his stuff on the kitchen counter, an uncertain look on his face at how his and Shiba's voices echoes in the empty room. Naruto always made an impression when he was there—his energy sparked something in the room, his voice was always loud—it was just _him_ and hard to explain. And with it being gone…

Sasuke ignored the pang in his chest and let Shiba direct him towards the places where the gennin team had already worked, both of them silent now. It was strange going through the empty rooms—walking through empty hallways that used to have many people walking through them, rooms that once was home to laughter now silenced. It was almost too much for him. After the fourth or fifth house, Sasuke couldn't stand it anymore.

"You … you have all done a great job." His voice only faltered once. "I want to thank you for dedicating yourselves so much to this task." Apparently Kia had taken the task to heart and dedicated herself more to what it meant—she had gotten over the fact that it was a 'boring' task and worked even harder. Whether it was just to get the job done and over with, or to actually do her best, Sasuke didn't know and didn't ask. "Why don't you take a break for about a week and then get started again?"

The estate was almost finished, and he felt that these kids deserved some type of break. It had to be lonely out here—even he wasn't around most of the time, and he never knew that Naruto hid himself most of the time. "I mean…" He shrugged and tried to avoid the confused stares of the team and Shiba. "I'm sure that you want more exciting missions and this is hardly high priority." He managed a smile, even though it felt like his face was stretching out of proportion.

Shiba must have seen something in his expression, the way he stood or the words he said—maybe he got more information because of his higher rank. Maybe he knew what was going on even when Sasuke was foundering in the dark. He placed one hand on Mika's head and nodded. "Sounds good to me." His voice was bland and he patted Aki on the head as well, who only gave him an impassive stare. "I'm sure that there are some fantastic missions lined up for us from the Hokage…"

Kia stared at Sasuke, eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something." She accused him. "Not that it's any of my _business…_" Her tone was still that slightly snotty tone that got on his nerves. "But chasing us away won't make anything else disappear." Apparently she still had some trust issues with him, and he wondered what she could see, what she had picked up.

"Who said I was trying to chase you away?" He almost snapped, but he held his emotions in check just in time. He remembered all too clearly losing his temper with this girl before, and didn't want to hurt her now. "I just realize how hard you must have been working when I never even realized it."

Her eyes narrowed further and she opened her mouth to say something when Aki rested a hand on her shoulder and silenced any statement she was going to make. His unnerving gaze focused on Sasuke as well, and something in those blank eyes had Sasuke shivering. He could almost feel the power in that gaze and it had him backing up a step.

"There is something different about you, Sensu-san." He murmured. "I can't say what it is, but I warn you to tread carefully in what you are doing." His eyes never turned away from Sasuke's. "Fate can be turned and twisted, Sensu-san—but some things are irrevocable and unchangeable in the end." Sasuke was strongly reminded of Neji, of how even in the gaze of an old man, he could see deep inside of him—he remembered the hushed conversation that Naruto and Neji shared, and wondered if this was related to it. He couldn't even form a reply to it.

His warning given, Aki let Shiba guide him away, but Sasuke felt the effect of Aki's gaze on him long after the boy left and he was back in his room. He wasn't dumb—he knew what Aki was alluding to. Naruto had explained vaguely of how the Hyuuga family had special abilities dealing with their eyes, granting them the gift to look inside someone. He just didn't want to believe it, didn't want to admit that anything was going to come of it.

Before he thought about what he was doing, he was pulling out the notebook again, carefully setting aside the pictures he had tucked into one of the pockets. He knew it was wrong of him—to pry so casually into the life of a person who had been so hurt throughout his short life, to desecrate the private thoughts of someone who died almost a century ago. He needed to know, though—and as well as Naruto knew Sasuke, there were some facets about him that he didn't know, that Sasuke wouldn't let him know.

He flipped around the pages, eyes lighting on various words and phrases, events that meant nothing to him—Sasuke stopped writing for a long while—there was a gap in time that was unaccounted for. The next entry made him wince.

_Naruto's power … Naruto's skills have grown far beyond mine and I don't know why. Wasn't he dead last at the academy? I was number one—I was the one with the special abilities, but now… now he has surpassed me on so many levels. If it wasn't for the curse seal… I would be falling behind, Because of this power, I can achieve my goals. I will fight Itachi eventually and I will beat him. I will become stronger than Naruto. He's jealous of me—because Kakashi taught me Chidori, but I look at Naruto and see something else, something that lurks beneath the surface—an awesome power that I cannot trace but I want to achieve for myself. What is it about Naruto? What gives him that strength, the reservoir of power that is unique to him, that only he can reach? I will find out—because Itachi wants that same power. Itachi covets Naruto's power and still ignores me. He sees Naruto as a worthy opponent, Naruto who has faced him and survived. Naruto….. why does it always go back to him? What is his secret?_

Sasuke stared at the entry. The words were filled with so much confusion, hurt … all of Sasuke's life he tried to reach his brothers level. Curse seal… Naruto mentioned the curse seal and how it eventually killed Sasuke. There had to be more to it than that. He absently rubbed his shoulder, the muscles tense and knotted there. He flipped to the next page, but it was blank—as were several after it. He thought the journal entries—the notes, or whatever they were would end there, but as he turned one more page, he found a series of almost letters—and they were addressed to Naruto.

tbc….


	13. Letters to Nobody at All

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Thirteen

By: Lazuli

PG

No warnings or pairings as of yet, well—not really. Hints of it if you squint, but don't strain yourself. XD Things will be a little more obvious soon. Don't kill me for this chapter, and trust me—it'll all make sense and work out soon. Be warned, my roommate says that I'm evil for what I've planned out. Things aren't as simple as they seem. Note: Don't own Naruto. Blah.

* * *

_Naruto,_

_ Why I'm addressing this letter to you, I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm used to writing things down, but not saying anything. Maybe because it's addressed to you, and you were the only one that I could ever trust with anything. You'll probably never read this anyways, unless you go through my private stuff after I die. I can't see you doing that, but—it would be nice to know that I managed to say something to you without the both of us ready to tear each others throats out. _

_ Well, I suppose the first thing to do is apologize, if I haven't by the time you read this letter. I doubt I've really apologized, because Naruto—I always knew you understood, on some level at least. Why I went off, why I was so angry—it doesn't make it better, it doesn't mean you have to forgive me. I'm not stupid, Naruto. I made a lot of mistakes in my life and whatever I do to try and redeem myself isn't going to help me after I die. But as long as I have your understanding at the end, I'll be okay._

_ Whatever happens will happen, I suppose. The fact that we reached this point—the fact that I'm alive and entrusting my welfare to you is something I never expected. I don't mind, though, Naruto. My ghosts have been laid to rest. There is only looking forward from here on out. I will no longer think about the past._

_ Uchiha Sasuke_

Sasuke set the notebook aside, glad that nobody was in the room at the moment. This most current entry was only one of many, and all of them were addressed to Naruto. He knew the chances of Naruto actually reading them was practically nil, but it made him feel better to address them to his friend. And they were friends again—closer than they were before as if their battles and time apart strengthened something already unbreakable.

Today was also one of those rare moments in his life where he could pretend like everything was normal, where nothing had changed from before. He was physically better than he had been in months—it was like nothing ever happened. If it wasn't for the occasional twinge of the curse seal, he could pretend like he was fine.

Naruto, of all people, had devised some type of seal that managed to suppress the curse seal almost entirely, actually taking away a huge chunk of it's influence over Sasuke's body. It had hurt like hell, and he almost killed Naruto in the process of the act, but he admitted to himself that it was a lot better now. Not that it would solve the problem of his chakra—but it wasn't something that he told Naruto about, either. If he did, the idiot would be sure to worry more and drive himself into the ground trying to repair something broken a long time ago.

Checking to make sure that no one was around, he hid the notebook back it it's hiding place, locking the metal box and sliding the panel back in place. Not that he really believed that Naruto or anyone else would go through his stuff, but old habits were hard to break. He'd forgotten about this place in his years away from Konoha, and discovered it by accident. It had been a nasty shock to see the old items he stored away—the pictures of his family, the one of Itachi—practice weaponry that Itachi had passed down to him…the stupid picture of Naruto—where Naruto was being stupid and silly and just relaxed around him.

That had changed—but things were almost back to normal. No person could ever return to the spot they came from—the point of return was always slightly off from the one they departed from. Maybe their relationship had grown since then—they were both older and been through a lot. Stuff that he would have never thought of happening, events he couldn't have imagined when he was twelve years old and a fresh graduate from the Academy. There was one new picture—one that Sakura insist that she take as soon as Sasuke was well enough to receive visitors after he came home. He smirked at the look that both he and Naruto shared in the picture before he put it away with the rest of his pictures. Perhaps he could persuade Sakura to take a new picture soon—

"Sasuke….!" Sasuke cursed under his breath when he heard Naruto come in, and he hurried to stick his head out the door, hiding his smile when Naruto strolled through the door, a real smile on his face. It seemed whatever he did today brought him some happiness. "You wouldn't believe it! Tsunade-baba said that I did a good job today! She let me handle a bunch of the stuff she normally does!" Naruto was practically bouncing. "It was like I was Hokage already."

Sasuke's brow rose at that. "It couldn't have been very important." He drawled. "If she let you handle it." He shook his head. "Unless she's getting more senile as the years go by, but even the Sandaime wasn't that far gone in the head." He hid his grin at Naruto's outraged scowl, but he knew that neither of them truly meant their reactions. It was just an old game at this point, one that they knew the rules of, one that they played out of habit.

"You're just jealous." Naruto stuck out his tongue and plopped down on Sasuke's bed. "Man, you still haven't decorated in here?" He made a face as he looked around. "Too plain, Sasuke—I know you have more personality than this." He gestured to the bare walls, then raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. "What do you say we go into town and get something to spice this place up?" There was a bright grin hovering at the edge of his mouth as he spoke, that same happiness lingering in his eyes.

Sasuke, making himself comfortable next to Naruto, was caught completely off guard by Naruto's suggestion. Not that Naruto didn't throw him every now and then, but he was usually able to see at least a hint of it coming, This time—"What do you mean?" He demanded. He wanted to make sure, he didn't want to assume more than what was going on….

Naruto grinned even wider at the annoyed look that crossed Sasuke's features. He truly had the upper hand, and he was enjoying every moment of it, looking ready to drag out the good news—but being Naruto, he couldn't hold it in for long. "Exactly what it sounds like, Sasuke." He said, poking his friend in the side. "You get to go into town for a day—" He gave him a sardonic look. "With me watching your back, of course…" The eye roll that accompanied this statement showed Sasuke what Naruto thought of _that_ little condition—"Because of my recommendation, Sakura's observations and the fact that it's been almost a year since you've been cooped up in this place—they're allowing you a day of parole."

As Sasuke stared at him, dumbfounded, Naruto continued to explain. "I told you that you'd be walking around the town eventually, now didn't I?" He asked. "I wasn't lying, you know." He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, a mock scowl on his face as if Sasuke was making the accusation at that moment. "It just took a little while longer than I thought, but I did managed to get at least part of the day arranged for you to see people again."

Sasuke blinked at him, trying to fight the smile that wanted to appear on his face He knew by the way Naruto was grinning—the way he was talking about it, voice rushed and words shoved together—that it had taken a lot more effort on Naruto's part than he was willing to admit. Sasuke would bet his stash of childhood memories that Naruto begged for a long time, wheedled, and practically blackmailed Tsunade into letting him have this day. "You idiot." He said gruffly, but there was the tiniest of smiles on his face. "Who said I wanted to deal with people staring at me again?"

Naruto smirked, knowing behind the words, the phrasing…that Sasuke appreciated more than he would admit. The more he mocked it, the more he cared about it—and Naruto knew that Sasuke needed some type of connection with the outside world, besides him and Sakura. As much as he didn't care about anyone else—it was still a life that he came back to. Even if Sasuke would never say so out loud—the way his eyes warmed said enough. "You, survive this long without your fan club staring at you?" Naruto snorted. "Please—you're probably pining away with only me for company."

"I know my intelligence level has dropped." Sasuke deadpanned. "It'll be nice to talk to someone with _brain_s instead of just a loudmouth in bright clothing." He raised an eyebrow at the picture of Team 7 that Naruto had on the table. "I'm surprised we weren't all blinded by those day glow colors."

Naruto grinned at that, edging closer to Sasuke on the bed. "That was to throw everyone off." He said in a stage whisper, as if confiding a great secret. "They would never suspect me of being a ninja, and then—" He smacked his hands together, startling Sasuke. "I'd be able to get them and complete the mission successfully."

Sasuke laughed at the look on Naruto's face, and then even harder when Naruto started at the sound of his laughter. "The number loudmouth ninja of Konoha… was undercover the entire time as a sneaky ninja?" He asked incredulously. Hearing Naruto explain it in that way, after all these years—he snickered again before calming down. His eyes were still bright with amusement though. Naruto was still staring at him like he was someone doing a henge.

"I've never heard you laugh before." He said in amazement, eyes wide. Sasuke started to stiffen and Naruto poked him in the side, grinning a bit. "You should do it more. You have a good laugh, Sasuke. I'm glad that you can laugh around me." At the sudden pronouncement, Naruto stood up and held his hand out to Sasuke. "Want to spar?"

Sasuke kept the smile on his face as he allowed Naruto to practically drag him out the door, glad that Naruto didn't push the issue or try to make it more than it was. Whatever it was--Sasuke didn't care to delve too deeply into the meaning of Naruto's words, most of which were a cover up for some other feelings. And for Naruto to direct their energy towards an activity that would be good for both of them, adding a sense of normalcy and direction to his life which he thought he lost too long ago--_Only Naruto…_

* * *

The next day, Naruto was dressed in full ANBU gear, his mask hooked on his belt. Sasuke was actually wearing something fairly new, feeling better and more like himself now that he wasn't going to be cooped up at the estate—even if it was just for one day. He never cared much for associating with people in the first place, but sometimes when one stared at the same place, day after day—it got a little exhausting. There was no need to mention those first several months he was too sick to even get out of bed, much less see the outside.

"I guess I ought to tell you that there are a few… rules… before we go into town." Naruto looked a little sheepish. "I didn't make most of these up, so don't blame me for them!" He hurriedly said, even before he explained any of the condition. "I guess… well, I tried, but people are still asses about it all and…"

"Naruto, shut up." Sasuke said, interrupting his babbling. "We're not children and we both understood the consequences of my choices a long time ago." He stared fixedly at Naruto, dark eyes implacable. "I'm not even considered a Konoha shinobi anymore and barely rate the status of citizen, am I right?" At Naruto's meek nod, he went on briskly, even though inside it hurt—very badly—to talk about this so blandly. "You're going to be the next Hokage, _I'm_ a missing-nin and a dangerous one at that."

Naruto smirked at that. "Don't give yourself so much credit. I kicked your ass yesterday." He pointed out. Sasuke gave an amused snort.

"Naruto, if you couldn't reasonably damage someone who hasn't been training fully when you're going to became the strongest shinobi in the village, then there is seriously something wrong with you claiming that position. Just wait until I train more." Sasuke shook his head in irritation. "But enough about that—tell me what these rules are."

Naruto looked disappointed that Sasuke cut off their bantering so soon, but took a deep breath to collect himself. Sasuke was suddenly struck at how serious he look—how responsible—he cut his train of thought short as Naruto began to explain himself.

"First rule—I guess this is the most obvious—you'll be watched at all times. Mostly by me, because you can't move out of my sight, but some of my ANBU members will be keeping an eye on your throughout the entire day in town." Naruto made a face at that. "I tried to tell them that it would have been fine to just have _me_ near you—but they were more concerned about keeping the people around us safe as well, not just me.. um… taking care of you." An embarrassed flush crept up Naruto's neck at the need to explain things like this to his friend.

Sasuke only nodded calmly. It seemed to be standard procedure, although a missing nin was not normally allowed to wander around town or even be allowed to spend the remainder of his days at his own dwelling. Most of the time, they were killed outright by the ANBU or other special forces that caught them. Sasuke considered himself very fortunate indeed and was willing to put up with a little scrutiny and humiliation to be able to see Konoha again. "What else?"

"Well—no wandering outside of Konoha, no picking fights or using your chakra in any way…" Naruto rattled off the rules quickly. "The worst one is just that you'll be escorted everywhere by me…" He paused "Unless you want to see it as guarding the potential Rokudaime." He grinned.

Sasuke snorted, but oddly enough—it did make him feel better about the whole situation. To watch over Naruto….he was positive that Naruto did a lot more than just make sure he didn't try and escape. He knew that Naruto protected him from people trying to kill him. To return the favor, to do something that could start on helping correct his mistakes from the past…to see Naruto realize his dream and make sure nothing stood in the way of it…"I've always been protecting you, dobe." He snorted. "To do it now won't be any different."

Naruto just made a face and swatted at him. "C'mon then—_bodyguard._" He smirked, settling his mask over his face and adjusting his weapons one last time. Sasuke hadn't seen Naruto with the mask on that often—Naruto chose not to wear it around him. "We only have today for you to act like a human being again."

Sasuke just mock glared at him as he stood up, brushing off imaginary dust from this clothing. "This should be interesting at the very least." He muttered to himself as he followed Naruto out the door. The empty houses no longer hurt him as badly as they did when he first came here, when he was continually haunted by memories of Itachi killing his clan—dreams of everyone gone but him, of Naruto dead and him never being able to make amends.

Now it was just peaceful—the sky was a calm blue with a few puffy clouds and it was strangely relaxing to be walking along the familiar pathways with Naruto. To know that he wasn't alone, that even though the houses were empty—the people that once lived in them were at peace. He had too many demons to contend with on his own to ever be at peace himself, but at least he knew that he was able to avenge those that deserved it.

As they neared the edge of the grounds, Sasuke could near faint sounds of life coming from Konoha—and after being shut up in the silent estate for so long, it was a little startling. He kept his surprise hidden and his composure calm on the outside, but he almost wished that he could prepare for this. Naruto, as loud as he was, wasn't like a whole town. And as they came into the town proper—the stares began.

He ignored them as he had his entire life—people looking at him because he was an Uchiha. This time, though—he could felt the anger behind the stares—the disgust and the wonder. He had enough sense not to respond and he glanced over at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, but nothing about the blond's posture gave his thoughts away. It was as if he didn't see them, didn't feel the weight of the malevolent looks. Or if he did, he was just very good at ignoring them. One couldn't have the future Rokudaime beating somebody up just because of a look, after all.

Naruto poked him in the side. "Smile, have fun." He murmured, the voice muffled by the mask, but Sasuke still heard him. "I'm only here as your shadow, remember?" Sasuke could almost hear the grin in his voice and he relaxed slightly to hear the Naruto he knew behind the persona he was forced to portray in public.

Sasuke snorted at that, giving him look that he knew Naruto could see, even through the ANBU mask. "You expect me to go shopping like a girl, dobe?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "I personally don't need anything in my room, and I doubt that they'll sell me any weapons if I'm under house arrest."

"Don't be so sure of that." Naruto was grinning again—Sasuke could tell and he gave a mental shake of his head that so little could please the blond. _And how did he get accepted as the potential Rokudaime?_ He wondered. _He's a simpleton, deep down._ "As Hokage-to-be…." He lowered his voice so that only Sasuke could hear. "I have _some_ pull with some of the conditions put on you." He smirked.

Naruto was just _full_ of surprises today. And happier than he remembered seeing him. As if Sasuke being allowed out, positive things happening to Sasuke changed so much in his mind. "They're letting me play with sharp, pointy objects?" He asked flatly, voice tinged with disbelief. "Somehow, I find that giving a convicted prisoner, under house arrest and guarded by the potential Rokudaime, _weapons_ a little hard to believe."

Naruto shrugged. "You're still confined to the grounds and like you pointed out—if I can't guard myself from one shinobi—even if he is an ass like you…" Sasuke's eye twitched at the modification Naruto made to his earlier words. "Then what right do I have to become Hokage?" He finished. There was something that he wasn't saying, something else that he was hiding, but Sasuke didn't push it. He just sighed and gave in. _It'll make the idiot happier._

Practically pushing him through town, they almost reached one of the more standard stores for shinobi supplies before they were stopped by a familiar figure nearly throwing herself at Sasuke. Naruto was startled and immediately went into guard stance before he realized it was Ino. With a snort of disgust, he took his hand of his sword and faced the kunoichi. "Get away from him, Ino." He said firmly.

She turned to look at Naruto and made a face. "He's allowed to do whatever he wants." She crossed her arms over chest, but stepped away from Sasuke who never even reacted to her, his expression slipping back into it's usual impassivity. "It's not like I can't _hug_ him or anything."

Naruto shifted slightly. "I'm his guard, Ino." He said patiently. "I'm watching over him to make sure that he doesn't hurt anyone, and that no one tries to hurt him." There was a faint, apologetic note to his voice as he continued. "Even if they're old comrades, rules are rules." Sasuke had a hard time keeping his mouth from dropping open at Naruto talking so seriously about _rules._ As if they were meant to be followed and not broken or twisted about… _Well, Naruto did always act serious when it came to certain things. And becoming Hokage was one of them—and this is part of it. _He mentally conceded.

Ino's frown grew deeper at that. "I don't think that you have to worry so much." She muttered. "I'm sure there are lots of people that he'd like to see since he's in town." Her look turned expectant as she switched her focus back to Sasuke, who still hadn't said a word to anything.

Sasuke sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. "I'm only interested in seeing a few people." He said bluntly. "I don't think that a great many others would like to see me—and…" He had never really held back with saying what he meant, but with the hopeful look Ino was giving him, the way he could feel Naruto tensing beside him…._And it's only for one day._ He pointed out to himself. "Why don't we gather a few—and _only_ a few—for a short lunch?" He turned to Naruto. "Is that permissible?" He was half hoping Naruto would say no.

He could feel Naruto studying him, trying to assess what he thought of the situation. He knew the blond arranged this whole day for his benefit—he'd been working the entire year towards getting Sasuke a 'day off' in a sense and didn't want to ruin anything for him. He gave Naruto a faint nod, unnoticed by Ino, to let him know that it was okay. After all, when would he get another chance?

Naruto sighed, audible even behind his mask, and nodded to Ino. "But only a small group." He warned. "I'm serious—Sasuke is still technically a prisoner and…"

"Naruto, we're not idiots." Ino said firmly. "If anything happens, I'm sure that whoever comes can handle it." She blushed and looked away from Sasuke. "Not that I'm accusing you or assuming that you'd _do_ anything, Sasuke…" Her voice trailed off nervously. "If anyone _else_ get the idea of hurting you, we could always…"

Sasuke cut her off with a sharp movement of his hand. "Enough." He said firmly. "I'm not an idiot, either. Like I told Naruto, I knew exactly what would happen if I was ever brought to Konoha and allowed to live." He didn't wince away from it, even when Ino did at the "allowed to live" part. "I'm grateful for anything offered to me right now." He even managed to sound sincere at that last sentence.

Ino nodded and smiled, hugging him one more time before running off, calling out something about gathering a few more people. Naruto slumped against the wall, murmuring something into a headset behind his mask. Sasuke couldn't hear and didn't try to. He assumed it was just informing Naruto's team of the change of plans so nobody got all up in arms about it. Although if he was under constant surveillance, they would have seen something was going on.

He straightened up after a moment and turned to Sasuke. "All clear." He said cheerfully. "Remember, _you_ wanted to spend a day with a bunch of harpies crying out how much they missed their 'Sasuke-kun' and how they want him back." He sniggered as Sasuke glared.

"This won't be an overlong reunion." He said shortly, and was surprised when Naruto nodded, "Very true—we have much more important things to handle today after you console your fan club." He snickered again and Sasuke sighed, wondering why he agreed to it, why he was putting up with any of this. _I should have just taken my kunai and ended it all before Naruto's team picked me up._

* * *

That thought was going through his head again as he was surrounded by a large, _loud_ group of people he had once fought beside, trained with and might have called comrades before things had changed so drastically. People like Kiba and Shikamaru just eyed him—Neji was more direct in his looks and Sasuke shivered at the intensity that was in that seemingly blank gaze. The girls were another story—but not as bad as he thought they would be, but Naruto—

His gaze slid over to Naruto, who was in full 'duty' mode and not reacting to the friendly, if a little strained, atmosphere of their old classmates. He wasn't paying much attention to the talk around him, only interacting when someone asked him a direct question—which wasn't often. Even Ino, who started to whole thing seemed oddly restrained. No one knew exactly how to act around Sasuke anymore, and it was starting to piss him off.

Sakura was, not surprisingly, the most talkative—she had the most interaction with him outside of Naruto and could treat him like a normal person, rather than the apparent freak of nature that he was. Hinata, recovered from her last mission, but still weak was direct in asking her questions that nobody else would ask. "Sasuke…." Her bright gaze focused on his. "How are you really doing?" It somehow was okay from her and Sasuke couldn't find it in him to be offended.

He took a sip of his drink as he considered, very aware of how the conversations faltered and all eyes turned to him. Even Naruto, he sensed turned more of his attention towards the answer to Hinata's question, rather than just watching him. He didn't ask if she was inquiring about his health, if she really wanted to, Hinata could see that quite clearly without any effort ton her part. "I…I'm doing better." He said finally.

Her eyes didn't leave his and it was clear that she, and everyone around her, was expecting a little more detailed of an answer than that. Even if she wouldn't outright say anything, the heavy stares of everyone else said enough. "I'm better than I was before I left Konoha." He kept his sentences short, unsure of how to phrase just what he felt now. The anger was gone, the pain—that burning need to _avenge_ was finally taken care of. "I can't really explain more than that…except…" He shrugged, not willing or unable to let his mouth articulate his feelings. His entire life was composed of putting up barriers, and it wasn't so easy to let go of them.

Hinata gave him a sincere smile, one hand patting his gently. "I understand, Sasuke." Her voice was the same he remembered from when he was thirteen, before he ran off and tried to change what the Hyuuga family would call his destiny. "You don't have to say anymore." She looked over at Neji, who only nodded in response to her silent inquiry. "I'm glad that we were able to see you again, Sasuke—we have to go now, but I hope that we will see each other again."

Sasuke was a little startled at the abrupt departure, but Sakura quickly explained. "She had to go to the hospital for regular check ups." Her voice was brisk, but the undercurrent of worry was clear to everyone at the table. "Ever since that last mission.." She didn't voice her fears and another uneasy silence fell over the group. Everyone realized that this was their life, that death was a constant companion and a risk they faced every day—but no one wanted to state so badly the fact of losing a teammate.

Naruto was listening to something in his headset, and then nodded once. "We have to get going ourselves." He gave an apologetic smile. "Sasuke and I have an appointment with the Godaime—it got moved up a little." He shrugged at that. "Guess it can't be helped—I'm surprised we got this much time as it was."

Everyone nodded in response to this as if they knew what was going on, but Sasuke was left in the dark. _Don't get angry about it, Uchiha. _He reminded himself sharply as he schooled his expression into bland politeness _I'm sure they have their own sources for information, and it's not like you'd be let in on anything. Friends or no—they're still ninjas of Konoha and aren't allowed to compromise anything, not even for a friend._

He vaguely listened to Naruto's apologies and goodbyes, nodded his own and followed Naruto to the Hokage tower. "What is this all about?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He hoped that he would be able to get some answers before he was faced with the Godaime. Naruto was still acting way too cheerful for it to be bad news—he wasn't going to be exiled or killed anytime soon, he knew that—but he would like some answers. "Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head. "Can't really tell you—'cept that it's been a year and well…Tsunade said that she had to check on how you're doing and what you're up to and stuff." The professional demeanor had dropped away, leaving Sasuke with a Naruto that he was more familiar with. "And normally it'd just be a report, but she wanted to see your herself."

Sasuke snorted and crossed his arms over his chest as he followed the blond along the familiar pathways the led to the Hokage's tower. How many times had they traveled along this road as children, how much had changed since then? Nothing could be the same, but as he looked around, he was amazed at how little had really changed. He and Naruto could be twelve years old again, bitter rivals on the surface and best friends underneath. Both of them so similar in the way they hurt, but both had too much pride to admit to the one other person that would unfailingly listen and understand.

Naruto nodded to the ANBU members that guarded the entrance to Tsunade's chambers and Sasuke ignored the looks that must be pointed towards his way, hidden behind the masks. He didn't care. Naruto straightened up when he and Sasuke entered the chambers, then relaxed when he realized only Tsunade was there. The Godaime turned her intense stare on Sasuke, and he inwardly flinched that the power that he could almost see beating beneath her skin.

"Well, Uchiha Sasuke…" Her voice trailed off as Naruto took his place at her side and removed the mask that he wore in town. Bright blue eyes, suppressing some type of emotion flickered back and forth from him to the Godaime. "It seems the time has come to discuss the conditions of your parole."

tbc…


	14. Some Explanations

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Fourteen

By: Lazuli

Pg/Pg-13

Standard Disclaimer Applies. Don't own Naruto.

Sasuke stared at Tsunade for a moment, then back at Naruto, a perplexed expression on his face. "Do you mean today?" He asked. "Naruto said that he cleared everything with you" He let his voice trail off in obvious inquiry, not getting what they were talking about. He remembered clearly about his 'indefinite stay' at his family's estate. They couldn't be talking about giving any more time could they?

Tsunade's expression didnt change at all as she watched the different emotions cross Sasuke's face, as he processed the meaning of her words. "Uchiha?" She asked calmly. "According to Naruto's report, you have been behaving well with no attempts of escape or trying to harm your .guard." Her words were tactful and she raised an eyebrow. "Haruno Sakura reports that your medical condition has steadily improved since you were first brought back to Konoha, and with the addition of the new seal over the curse seal, it seems that you may make a full recovery."

Sasuke gave her a mild look at that, nodding. He knew that Naruto's reports about him were bound to be full of 'good behavior' remarkshe wasn't about to try and kill his only friend again, and he'd felt himself recovering. The fact that was able to walk around town and interact with people without passing out was proof of that. Nothing Tsunade said was new. "What does this have to do with my parole?"

She smirked at him. "Patience." She said calmly, propping on her chin on one hand. "Because of your previous record with Konohagakure and on the strong recommendation on the future Hokageit has been suggested and reviewed that you will be pardoned within a year, provided that this 'good behavior' of yours continues."

Sasuke snorted lightly at the way she phrased the statement as if he were an unruly child rather than a dangerous rogue shinobi. "I think that I can manage not to roast the building around me." He said dryly. "Am I still forbidden to use my chakra?" He had to know even if he didn't want to use it again for fear of activating the curse seal, he wanted to know if he could put a legitimate order against using itit would make something in him feel better, instead of thinking that he was just a coward for not taking the chance.

Naruto and Tsunade both nodded at that, and Naruto explained. "It's because it's still too uncertain with the curse seal." His voice was soft and carefully controlled. "Even with the extra seal I put on top of it, we simply can't risk it activating and" He shrugged as he offered a sheepish smile. "I guess people are scared that if it activates, you'll turn against us again"

Sasuke nodded slowly, accepting the explanation that was offered. It was feasible enough to set his own doubts to rest who's to say that it wasn't the real explanation? Maybe that was what he felt the was scared that the power would overtake him like it had before. He couldn't stand the memory of that slow tugging on his thoughts, turning his doubts and goals darker, turning him against those that cared for him especially Naruto.

"Even with Orochimaru dead?" He asked dryly. The curse seal shouldn't affect him any more with the person that caused it dead but look at Naruto. He had the kyuubi sealed inside of him, and the one that created the seal died in the making of it. His could still linger as well, but without the malignant origins behind it

"Even with him gone." Tsunade said firmly. "People look at it as you leaving, not anything forcing you to do so. If it makes you feel any better, we still keep a close eye on Anko as well because she once trained under Orochimaru and has a curse seal as well." Her looked was faintly apologetic. "It just has to be this way for a little while longer, Sasuke. Think of it as a way to strengthen your skills in other areas besides genjutsu or ninjutsu." That made sense and Sasuke accepted it. He could all to easily see what could happen if he used his chakra

_To die because of the curse seal, to have it drain away it's life force because that was what it was supposed to do to be alone, to not be able to get back to Naruto, to know that he died because it was his fault, because he gave up too soon that he left Naruto alonethat he broke his promise and burdened Naruto with something that he never should have had, to be always alone, no one knowing he was there that it was his fault, his fault, ALWAYS his fault because he never said anything when he should have_

He must have spaced out for a moment, because Naruto was suddenly standing in front of him, eyes wide with worry and hands tight on his shoulders. "Sasuke!" His voice was urgent, too. "Sasuke are you okay?" He tossed Tsunade a worried look, but she just shook her head. Sasuke was still feeling a little dazed, but managed to push Naruto's hands away from him.

Just when he was reassured over his health, he spaced out right in front of Tsunade. He hoped that it wouldn't set his pending release back anynot just because he wanted to be in Konoha again, but because it would disappoint Naruto. _I'm getting soft._ He thought in disgust. _To let myself get so worked up about what Naruto thinks. _

"I'm fine." He said shortly. "I'm not allowed to be lost in my own thoughts?" He asked. He wasn't sure how long he'd be 'out', but was willing to take the chance. Tsunade didn't look seriously alarmed, so he guessed that it hadn't been that bad. "I'm not like you, dobe. I have more thoughts in my head to sort through."

Naruto bristled at that, but Sasuke could read the relief in his eyes that Sasuke was acting like normal, that he wasn't mumbling about Naruto being dead or how the estate was no longer part of Konoha. Sasuke could still vividly recall those dreams, at his worst moments they seemed more real than his life now, but he no longer dreamt of those possibilities. "Idiot." Naruto finally muttered. "Worrying me like that"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Well, that's pretty much it." She said. "Besides my examination of Sasuke." She gestured to a side door. "Naruto will be there the entire time, because he has to be present to see his work on his seal." She raised an eyebrow. "That a problem for you?" She questioned. It didn't look like he really had a choice, but he nodded anyways. Formality was a common thing when dealing with the Hokage. Naruto looked solemn again, and the three of them went to Tsunade's private examination room.

He didn't like showing the curse seal to anyonehe hated the fact that it still existed and Tsunade's probing fingers made the pain flare again. Naruto's seal was still holding up, reducing the normal responses the seal had to chakra, for which he was grateful for, in more ways than one. Naruto's touch was gentler, chakra tipped fingers moving over the designs of the seal he so carefully wrought.

"It's still holding." His voice was a soft murmur, so unlike the boisterous tone Naruto usually spoke in. Sasuke, hunched over, shirt held loosely in his hands, didn't reply to that and felt the careful touch pull away. "I don't think I have to strengthen it yet, but I'll keep on looking for ways to remove that curse sealwithout killing you." He moved away and Sasuke pulled the shirt back on.

"Is that it?" He asked, eyes shifting from Naruto to Tsunade, and back again. "The curse seal isn't flaring up or causing anymore of a mess of my insides?" He wasn't sure that he wanted to hear the answer, but he was an Uchiha and wasn't going to run away from some bad news.

"Youre doing a lot better than you were a year ago." Tsunade said firmly, helping him off the examination table when he wobbled slightly. "I predict that with Naruto and Sakura's helpthis curse seal of yours can be beat."

Sasuke wasn't sure what to think of the hope that she offered him, wasn't sure how to take it or react to it. "Then can we go now?" He glanced outside, where the sun was drifting into early afternoon. Naruto had lost his solemn look and was practically bouncing again, looking like he was ten years old again and wanting to escape from a long day at the Academy. _And this will be our Hokage_"And what does that mean in terms of my current situation?"

"Naruto still has to turn in his final report, the guards around the estate will be lessened a little and you'll have a chance every three months to go into town like you did today." At his look of surprise, she finally gave him a smile. "Naruto can be very persuasive." Was all she said before the blond put his mask back on and practically dragged Sasuke out the door.

* * *

They never quite managed to get to the weapons shop, but Naruto was mumbling something about a surprise waiting for him when they got back 'home'. Sasuke smirked to himself as Naruto dragged him back to the estates. Sometimes he was really too predictable. Althougha smile tugged at his lips at how hard it must have been for him to hide this secret all this time. Naruto looked so hopeful.

Even if he didn't really care about what other people said about him, he could see how happy it made Naruto to give him this giftto not be forever isolated and alone. To give him a second chance at regaining something he lost a long time ago. How could he explain to Naruto, though, that he didn't want it back? That he was happy where he was, with Naruto_since when did he become such an important figure in my life?_

Not just because they were teammates, or the mutual understanding they shared because they were both so closely examined by the village. It could be the time they spent together at the estate, the way Naruto looked at him like he always did_I want to stay around him._ Sasuke realized with a start. The days of Naruto being a nuisance and unneeded at his family's estate were goneand he didn't realize when that happened. When he waited for Naruto to come back, when he no longer wanted to lock himself in his room and ignore the noisy blond. When Naruto's cheerful and real smiles were looked for instead of sneered at.

Sasuke gave a mental groan at the way his thoughts turned over in his head. Naruto didn't seem to notice the way he was acting, which he was grateful for. It was enough to tell Naruto that it was okay that he stuck around and he was grateful for itbut to admit to the hyperactive loudmouth that he actually _wanted_ Naruto to be around? That he enjoyed his company and was disappointed when he got called away to have preparation lessons with Tsunade? _The idiot would laugh his head off._

He followed Naruto into his home, silently sliding off his shoe sand looking at Naruto expectantly as he pulled off his mask and set it aside. "Remember how Tsunade said that you could do a whole lot more now?" He asked carefully. "And we've been skirting the rules for awhile anyhow." He gave a nervous laugh and looked down at his hands for a moment. "I I pulled out all your old weapons." He said with a rush.

Sasuke blinked at that. "I thought that they were confiscated and" His eyes widened. "You got all my old weapons from _there?_" He asked. "Naruto." He was grateful for the chance to have familiar weapons back in his handshaving new ones wouldn't be quite the samebut he didn't want Naruto to get into trouble for giving them to Sasuke, either.

"Tch" Naruto grinned as he mimicked one of Sasuke's favorite sounds. "Give me some credit, will ya? It's already been cleared as long as you don't carry the weapons off the grounds." A single eyebrow rose. "Not that you do it a great deal, butthey wanted to put down more rules and restrictions" He lowered his voice in mock-seriousness. "They've got a bunch of sticks up their asses that they just can't seem to shake loose unless they're dominating over _something._"

Sasuke snorted at that. "Glad to see you have such a high opinion over the people that you'll be working with." He muttered. "Glad I don't have to sit on that council. I'd probably resign within weeks." Sasuke smirked and settled on the couch, eyes half closed as he observed Naruto and waited for him to make the next move. Whether it was to knock Sasuke to the ground for the insult, or return one of his ownit would at least get him to react honestly and not hide behind the fake smile that Sasuke could see now. Naruto was still uncertain over how Sasuke would react_Considering the circumstances, I can hardly blame him. What if the situations were reversed? What if he had been the one to run off?_ With a chill, Sasuke knew that Naruto would have never been given the chance to redeem himself. They would have killed him immediately.

He was expecting the shove and so it didn't hurt as badly as it could have, and he opened amused eyes to look up at Naruto. "Bastard." He muttered. "But you wouldn't be you if you weren't.' Levering himself up, he smirked over at Sasuke. "Why don't we put those weapons of yours to go use?" He questioned, and Sasuke could almost hear the question in his voice, the almost undetectable pause. "You always were better than me at shuriken throwing."

Sasuke looked surprised at thatwhile Naruto was more inclined to admit things, he never admitted the Sasuke that he was better at something. Maybe he matured enough to admit that Sasuke had more talents in certain areas, but it was still unexpected. He found a real smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Sure, dobe. I'll teach you how to properly throw those weapons you carry around."

He remembered begging Itachi to teach him, he could close his eyes and see his older brother moving around the familiar back ways of the estate, showing him tricks that he picked up in ANBU and other places. But it never hurt to brush aside the old, painful memories for new onesto be the one who was an example for someone. Someone that didn't need to follow in his brothers footsteps in the way he was originally going to do. He simply followed Naruto outside to the training area and set up teaching him the secrets that only the Uchiha clan knew. Maybe there was no chance of reviving the clan, but there were other ways of keeping it alive.

* * *

They were both exhausted afterward, laying in the disappearing sunlight next to each other. Only Naruto could drive Sasuke this hard, and he knew that it was the same for Naruto. He looked over and smirked at the flush that covered Naruto's cheeks from their sparring. He was positive that the guards around the estate knew what was going on, and if it turned deadly, they wouldn't hesitate to kill him but he also knew the several of the guards were people that he and Naruto grew up with, and understood how they acted around each other. _It's a good thing, too._ He thought absently. _Or else I'd have been dead a long time ago._

Naruto smirked next to him. "I still beat you." He bragged. It was more of a tie than anything else, and it had degenerated into both of them just letting out pent up emotions and steam near the end. Nothing ever really serious. Nothing ever really was serious in fighting after that last time. It was friendly sparring now, training and a test of skills. "Take that, Sasuke."

Sasuke only snorted. "Hn. Try and get up and prove it to me." He challenged. It was an empty challenge, because even if Naruto was able to get up and go for another round of sparring, Sasuke was too tired to counter any moved that Naruto made. Not that he'd admit it out loudthere was his pride to consider, after allbut he simply couldn't sum up the energy to really move, and didn't want to. It was comfortable out here, watching the shadows move across the grass, to hear Naruto's breathing beside him and the occasional grumble. They had done stuff like this in the pastvery rarely and only when they were at their most tired and no one else was aroundbut it wasn't a common thing. _I think I could get used to this. _He looked over at Naruto when he sensed the blond moving.

Naruto's were folded behind his head as he looked over at Sasuke. "We've come a long way, haven't we?" He asked softly. Sasuke stared at him, not expecting the abrupt question or the echoing of his own thoughts. It was unnerving that Naruto could still do that, that he always could echo some portion of what was going through Sasuke's mind. It was something they had discussed before but Naruto's tone had Sasuke looking at the blond more carefully, wondering what he meant by it.

He didn't have to wait long before Naruto explained himself. "I meanlook at us. Can you imagine us sitting down and talking with one another a few years ago?" He made a face. "We'd be more likely to beat each other into the ground"

"Not that we didn't just do that." Sasuke interjected.

Naruto snorted and shoved at him weakly. "You know what I mean!" He protested. "You'd usually be mocking me for falling for some stupid trick, or I'd be calling you a bastard and accuse you of cheating" He shook his head in amusement. "I guess you could say that we've grown up some?"

Sasuke was going to reply with his usual remark, that Naruto hadn't grown up at allthat he was still the same idiot that Sasuke knew when they were both kids. But seeing the serious expression on Naruto's face, the way those cerulean eyes darkened with thought and focused inward on unvoiced thoughtshe was suddenly struck with the realization that Naruto had grownnot just in power, in strengthbut in the way that he viewed the world and how he handled it. Sasuke, for the first time, could see Naruto as Hokage. The memory of Naruto's serious expression in Tsunade's office, the way he carefully examined Sasuke the control he used--

Naruto wasn't really waiting for an answer, but Sasuke just turned so that he could face him more clearly. "Yeah I guess we both have." His voice was quiet. He knew that for all Naruto's loud ways and exuberant movements, the blond had always been more mature than he had beenon many levels. "Naruto how were you able to never give up?" He asked, not sure where the question was coming from or what prompted it. He just knew that he'd been wanting to know how he managed to survive all this time, to never let hatred taint his goal.

Naruto blinked at that, sitting up in surprise. There was much more to the question than what the wording impliedit could mean a lot of things that he didn't give up on. His goal to become Hokage, his friendship with Sasuke, the need to be acknowledgedhis faith in Sasuke that he would eventually return. How his smile hardly ever wavered, even when it was just a fake one that he showed to the world. "Sasuke" He gave an uncertain grin, unsure if Sasuke was just mumbling like he was, voicing thoughts without wanting an answer.

Sasuke sat up as well, raising an eyebrow and facing Naruto directly. He wanted an answersome part of his demanded to know Naruto's secret. They were both the same but so oppositethere had to be something that was Naruto, something he learned or picked up over the years that allowed him to do this. "I want to know, Naruto just how?" He gestured around them, eyes narrowed but not angry. "You've come so much further than me and you never lost sight of what you had planned to do from a young ago." _You never decided to essentially sell your soul to the proverbial devil, even with a demon sealed inside of you. You never used that for an excuse, you never ruthlessly exploited it like I exploited my power._

"You never did, either." Came Naruto's surprising answer. "Our goals were different, but we both achieved them in the end." His grin was a little sheepish. "Well, _almost._ " He admitted. "I'm not Hokage yet, and I haven't 'surpassed all that came before', but I finally got it so that people see me and what I wanted to do." He tilted his head. "And you were able to avenge your family and well I know it sounds kind of stupid" His voice trailed off uncertainly. "But you were also able to put yourself at peace."

Sasuke continued to stare at him, amazed at what Naruto saw in him, and barely heard the blond continuing his rambling litany of words. "And even though.. .you lost sight for a little whileyou were still _Sasuke_ and your own code of honor and" He blushed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Like not actually killing me at the Valley of the End"

"Naruto, I went to Orochimaru for that power! I killed the last member of my clan myself with the power of a curse seal still imbedded in my skin, interlaced with my chakra and you're comparing me with you? And saying how it was a good thing that I didn't kill you?" His voice rose on the last word. "If it wasn't for kyuubi" _If it wasn't for kyuubi, you'd be dead. If kyuubi didn't take charge, you would have given up and died at the bottom of that river. I would have burned all my bridges and have never come back. _

Naruto waved that away. "Kyuubi was saving his own skin." He snorted. "He realized that if I died, he would dieso he did everything he could to make sure I wouldn't get killedand that nearly killed you." He said bluntly. "He shoved me aside and basically took over." They had never really discussed what went on that day---wounds were still too fresh only a few weeks ago, feelings and accusations that built up over the years and their time apart unsaid. His eyes were faintly pained. "That was after you slammed my head into the ground" He rolled his eyes. "You always were dramatic."

Sasuke snorted and relaxed against one of the training dummies, absently yanking out a smaller shuriken that he forgot to remove earlier. He was relieved that Naruto was able to play it off, treat it like another 'fight' they had, like the sparring they had today. "I had to get my point across somehow." He muttered. "You weren't going to listen to reason, so I had to do something to get it through that thick skull of yours." His hand reached out and grabbed Naruto's tightly. He didn't want to have dreams again of Naruto dying alone. "I'm glad it was that thick, though."

Naruto squeezed his hand briefly before releasing it. "Yeah, me too." He said softly. "But to answer your earlier question" He raised an eyebrow. "I had nothing my entire life but my goals, Sasuke. No friends, admirers, parents or siblings. No one to look at me, no one to see what I was doingand then" He grinned. "I was accepted into the Academy. I made it my goal to e the best shinobi there was, so that people could respect me, even if they didn't like me." His tone was still upbeat and cheerfulstill a real cheerful and not his false image.

Sasuke offered his own response to it, and had a feeling this would be an 'exchange information' session that both of them had always done in silent understanding, but never voiced until now. "My brother graduated from the Academy the same age I was accepted." His voice was devoid of all emotion. Unlike Naruto, anything mentioning his brother still brought him paineven though Sasuke was the one to end his life. "My entire family looked at him, saw him in me compared me to him and wanted me to be just like him. I admired him, too. I needed Itachi to notice me, to see me as strong enough to teach and spar with" He swallowed. Later that obsession twisted.

"I saw you all the time." Naruto continued as if Sasuke hadn't spoken, but his eyes were trained on the other boy. "I saw how good you were with your taijutsu, how everyone clustered around you and called out your name. You were focused on training, even then but you noticed how other people saw you. You enjoyed their attention, you performed for them" There was a short, almost pained, laugh. "You never noticed mebecause no one else did, but I still looked up to you. I wanted to be as good as youI wanted to have the same looks directed towards me that you got." He stared down at his hands. "I don't think you saw me until you understood what it was like to be alone."

"I saw you before then." Sasuke picked up the train of conversation, but frowned at Naruto for thinking him to be such a shallow person. _Well, you were as a kid. _"I wondered about you and thought you were an idiot, but I saw you. I knew that you were accepted into the Academy at a young ago, like my brother. That if you hadn't failed all those times" Here, a smirk. "Then you would be graduated at the same age I started." His fists clenched at that. "I couldn't understand how you could could just throw that chance away. Then I wondered how no one saw what you could do."

"It wasn't like I did it on purpose!" Energy returned, Naruto stood up and paced back and forth, a slight frown on his face. "I didn't realize the problem until years later, when Ero-sennin told me about how my chakra works in relation to kyuubi's." He looked over at Sasuke. "I guess the best way to describe it is like when we first looked to walk on trees. We both had so much chakra that it kicked our asses. It was like that for me I had too much that it unbalanced me." He didn't stop his pacing, just clenched one hand at his side. "Sucks, huh?" He asked dryly. "I had so much potential where I could do a ton of kick ass jutsu _including_ rasengan at the age of twelve but ai couldn't do a lousy bunshin to graduate."

Sasuke shrugged at that, but accepted the explanation. It had been a shock when he found the amount of chakra that Naruto had sleeping beneath the surface, most of it untapped but still laying in wait for him. It hurt worse that Orochimaru was the one to taunt him with the knowledge, mocking him for never picking up on it before. That Naruto never told him the truth about what he held inside of him, never trusted to tell him about the secret that was the cause of all the animosity directed towards him growing up._ But you never told him about the curse seal, so I guess fair's fair. _

"I didn't know that thenbut after Itachi killed my family" His eyes flicked over to the section of the estate that Naruto never went to. "I noticed you more. You started making faces at me and never fawned over me. I kept an eye on you, but you never changed. You were as stupid as everalways so stupid." He sighed. "But driven like I was. Only your goal was healthiernot to kill off the one remaining member of your clan because he took care of everyone else." He clenched his fist lightly. "He saw me as too weak, that I wasn't even worth his time to kill like everyone else in the clan. I couldn't stand being on the bottom!"

"When you start at the bottom, there is only the top to climb to." Naruto grinned. "And I'll continue to climbing until I reach what I I've always wanted." He suddenly grabbed Sasuke's arm and hauled him to his feet. "And you, too." He said firmly. "You were never meant to crawl on the ground, Sasuke. You're way too smart for that and it'd suck to have a rival that thought that way." Sasuke gave him a dazed look at the way Naruto turned the conversation around, how easily he read what was going through his head. "No more of this depressing shit." Naruto declared. "Onto better stuff." As if on cue, his stomach growled. "Like dinner."

The shadows of dusk had nearly overtaken the sunlight, but Naruto's blue eyes still stood out, blond hair surrounding a tan face with white teeth bared in a grin. Naruto was meant to stand out, meant to be seen. Even in Sasuke's darkest times and memories Naruto's image always stood in some bright part of his mind. Knowing that Naruto would be there, hoping and praying that he would still be there when if Sasuke ever returned to Konoha was the only thing that kept him going after Itachi's body lay at his feet. "Aa let's get some food. And no ramen!" He ordered. "It's my turn to cook tonight and it's going to be little more filling."

Naruto gave a token protest, but bounced beside Sasuke as they walked into the house together, hands not quite touching but occasionally brushing against each other. It had become routine to have dinner together well, to take turns at leastever since Sasuke shared his meal with Naruto that one time. Naruto could occasionally cook more than ramen, but the menu was still rather plain and unvaried, and Sasuke took his night seriously to feed the blond something more substantial and healthier than the glutinous noodles. He had a feeling Naruto rather liked being cooked a meal, basking in the feeling of having someone do something for him, even if he never asked for it and never would admit to it.

As for Sasuke, it was like having a family again, albeit just as weird and fucked up as his last onebut nicer in a way. Someone that understood him and how he acted, someone he could bicker with and who would see him to spar with and kick his ass (and occasionally get his own ass kicked). As he pulled out the ingredients for katsudon and shoved Naruto to the side before he caused damage, he couldn't help but feeling something inside of him relax. Naruto grumbled and fished out the rest of the stuff they needed from the fridge, but there wasn't anything really annoyed in the grumbling.

Sasuke turned to give him a faint smile, expression more open than he let anyone see, even Naruto. He realized and admitted to himself how much he wanted to keep the blond beside him, even after the sentence was lifted. He didnt want to think about him wandering around the empty hallways again, with only ghosts to keep him company. He would find some way to tell Naruto that, but now wasn't the time to impart that to him. They'd always have time in the future.


	15. Slow Torture

Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Fifteen

By: Lazuli

PG-13/R

Sasu/Naru

Warnings/Disclaimers. Slight spoilers? Not really main thing yes the rating has gone up for a reason. Thanks goes to proud_snapist for her hard work in beta-ing this chapter for me. The suggestions and edits were fabulous and thank you again! Naruto is not owned by me.

Chapter Fifteen

Sasuke put the notebook aside, not having read through all the entries, but still disturbed at what he did read. _It's kind of sad, almost._ He thought. _I think I can understand Naruto a bit more now, Sasuke was about to be pardoned and things were going to go back to normal, then Sasuke died._ The details of Sasuke's death obviously weren't in the notebook, but with the way the 'letters' were going, thanking Naruto over giving him something back.

His head still felt fuzzy, and if he closed his eyes he could still see the uncertain looks of Sasuke's 'friends' comradesNaruto's wide and real grinalmost as if he was seeing it before his eyes. He always had a good imagination, but to picture every scene so clearly, mind filling in the blanks of what wasn't written in the journal.

He just finished reading about how he and Naruto were getting closer_how close were they, really?_ He wondered absently, before storing the notebook away again. He was starting to feel off, almost disconnected from reading the entries for so long, with no one else around. It was strange not having Naruto there, even after all this time he still hadn't appeared. Sasuke's lips thinned in annoyance as he went on a more determined hunt for the blond ghost.

His mind went back to the previous entry of Uchiha Sasuke's, about the memorial site for the Uchiha family. He had been thinking about it that night after he and Naruto trained. Naruto had never been there before, but he was certain that after Narutos friend died, he would have gone there, if only to pay his respects. With the recent events and confusion lately, Sasuke had a feeling that was where he would find Naruto now.

The only problem was that he didn't know where the memorial site washe hadn't explored every inch of the estates, and there were doors locked that Sasuke didn't have the key to. He knew there was a shrine for the family around, separate from the memorial, but he didn't have a clue where that was, and some part of him didn't want to find out, either. He was positive there were a few spots _outside_ that were a part of the Uchiha estate that he couldn't get to because of Naruto sealing them off or he simply didn't have the keys to those places. And it was partly out of respect for Naruto's wishes to keep the past in the past. But now he had to find Naruto. Running a hand through his hair, he decided to explore the locked doors first, and hopefully he'd hit on something.

The hallways were quiet now, with only the sound of his feet moving over the smooth wooden floors. Naruto wasn't hovering near him Naruto's presence wasn't noticeable at all and Sasuke could usually tell when he was nearly hit his head at his stupidity. Naruto could never fully hide himself, because he was nothing more than concentrated energy if Sasuke tried hard enough, he would be able to find out where he was, rather than wandering aimlessly through the halls and buildings of the massive estate. He didn't know why he was always able to 'find' Narutohe just attributed it to the fact that he was always around Naruto. He could tell where Naruto was from early on almost from the time he started living at the estate.

_When did he become so important to me?_ He wondered vaguely. _When did it become normal to want to search for him, to see him next to me while I studied something or just relaxed? When did he cease to become a nuisance and a fixture in my home?_ He didn't know how to answer the questions, but he knew that he didn't want to spend another day in an empty house, with only the memories of a past that was not his own to keep him company. The previous day had been hell for him. He could almost feel the weighted stares of the Uchiha clan all around him, wondering at this intruder to their home without Naruto there to vouch for his presence.

And after wandering hallways that he had never really cared to go to before, feeling the same daunting presence of what was once Konoha's most elite family, he finally felt the thread of what he knew was Naruto's energy. This place was quieter than any other place in the house, the silence was oppressive and choking and he clenched one hand to push away the emotions that were not his own. _Get over it, Sasuke. It's just a house it's just empty hallways and rooms._

Even with the thread of Naruto's energy to follow, it was difficult navigating the more dilapidated part of the estate. Sasuke was sure that he left the main house a few pathways ago, and wondered just where he _was_ going. A door suddenly appearing in front of his face startled him. He pushed tentatively on it, relieved when it gave and led him outside. The house was starting to make him claustrophobic.

He spotted Naruto by a single monument, the stone worn and even from his spot by the door, he could see the Uchiha clan symbol engraved on the stone. He moved closer to Naruto, unsure if he should bother him, but reassured himself with the knowledge that Naruto would have known he was there, would have felt his presence coming closer as Sasuke felt Naruto's energy. The ghost was wearing something different again Sasuke didn't try and figure out how a ghost could change it's clothing, a white coat with flames along the bottom. He'd never seen Naruto with that particular jacket before--"Naruto?"

The ghost turned around, a faint smile on his face. "Thought you'd end up here sooner or later." There was a faint note of almost-amusement in his tone and Sasuke wasn't sure how to react to it, especially with Naruto's next words. "Welcome to the Uchiha Cemetery."

Sasuke stared at him, eyes widening in surprise as he took an involuntary step back. Naruto gave a sad laugh. "Cemetery isn't the best word, I suppose but it's a memorial to the Uchihas that have died over the centuries, and it is separate from the family shrine." He gestured to the angular stone in front of him. "This stone is supposed to be a tribute to those that had passed away, and it was ritual for the youngest member of the Uchiha family to visit here and light a stick of incense at the memorial."

Sasuke was silent at that, and he automatically looked for the curling smoke but there was none. He looked at Naruto in silent inquiry, asking him why he didnt continue the tradition after Sasuke died. It was almostwrongnot to have an ever-burning stick here, something to acknowledge those who had passed before.

Naruto snorted. "You think that the Uchiha family had a never-ending supply of incense?" he asked incredulously. "Or that I had the right to even light a stick?" He shook his head. "I'm not a member of the Uchiha family, even if Sasuke accepted me." Expression vaguely pained, Naruto moved away from the stone. "The last stick was lit when Uchiha Sasuke died."

"I see" Just as Sasuke felt like an intruder in the house without Naruto thereNaruto must've felt like an intruder without Sasuke there. "I didn't mean to accuse you, Naruto." He stepped closer to the memorial, kneeling down in front of it in an almost absent-minded motion. Hands reached out to a small niche behind the stone, and a faint smile formed as he felt the familiar bundle of incense there.

"I think it would be okay to start the tradition again." His smile was faint. "Even if I'm not him, I guess my being here and you seeing me as him should count for something." Not waiting for Naruto to reply to that, he turned back to the stone. The only thing he didn't have was anything to start the fire, but it didn't hurt to place the incense in the holder. Now that he knew where the place was, he could always come back and light it. He knew that Naruto was still behind him, but the ghost was silent. The lack of words didn't bother him. Just knowing that Naruto was there and hadnt left him was enough.

He finally turned around and looked up at Naruto, who was staring at Sasuke with a sort of astonished look in his eyes, but he still didn't voice any of his thoughts. "Is it fine that I come out here?" Sasuke prodded. He didnt want to offend Naruto, not after figuring out where the ghost was and knowing that he wasn't alone. He didn't want to be left in the empty house againand doing something like this could very well alienate him from Naruto even more.

Naruto nodded slowly, a small smile on his face as he looked at the incense at the memorial, then down at Sasuke. "I think that they would like it." His face didn't reveal anymore than that simple happiness"I think that Sasuke would be happy as well."

Sasuke shot Naruto a look at that. _He isn't going to go on about me being that other Sasuke?_ He thought in surprise. He would've guessed that Naruto would have said something silly like "it was your duty" or something aggravating like that, but it appeared the blond had learned something from how Sasuke took the news earlier and kept silent about his thoughts on the matter.

He offered his own smile in return, hands absently moving together, his mind not really focused on what he was doing. Only Naruto heard the murmured 'Goukakyuu no Jutsu' and felt the chakra spark around Sasuke, the incense stick catching the heat. Sasuke either never noticed the curl of smoke, or just didn't pay any attention to it as he got to his feet. "Let's go back inside." He offered. "It's too quiet out here. Even _your_ voice can't fill up the empty space."

Naruto snorted and use a spark of his own chakra to lightly thwack Sasuke. There were some advantages to being a ghost, like Sasuke not being able to retaliate to the hit. He and Naruto just traded insults as they walked back into the Uchiha estate together, the incense forgotten.

* * *

"So what's with the coat?" Sasuke asked, gesturing to what Naruto wore. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear it before." He was cooking something for his dinner, pleased to have Naruto hovering by for once. It was a familiar scene, one that he was comfortable with and had missed the few days the ghost had 'disappeared.' Naruto looked down at his outfit, a faint smile on his face as he fingered the material clothing that was just as insubstantial as he was.

"It belonged to the Yondaime." His look was proud. "Ero-sennin gave it to me after I became Hokagehe had kept it all that time" His smile grew as he recalled the shock on the other people's faces when they saw the jacket. "Most people thought the Yondaime died wearing this but"

Sasuke already knew the Yondaime was Naruto's hero even after what the man had done to Naruto at birth, he still admired him and aspired to become everything he was. "It must have meant a lot to you to get that jacket." Sasuke said carefully. "But is that the only reason why it's so important to you?"

Naruto laughed at that. "You're reaching too far." He shook his head. "It had sentimental value for me, I guess you'd say. I mean this Hokage loved his village so much that he gave up his life to protect it? And" Naruto looked at the ground. "Jiraiya and Tsunade, Kakashi, even they told me that they believed he was my father. I found that out not too long before I died."

Sasuke stared at him with that piece of information. "No one thought to inform you of this before?" He asked incredulously. "That was rather cruel of them." He was making ginger-spiced noodles and was reaching for a second plate before his mind caught up with his hands. He carried the solitary portion of noodles over to the table, Naruto following him. Sasuke tried not to feel guilty eating in front of Naruto.

Naruto shrugged. "I suppose it hurt them too they were all really close to him well, maybe not Tsunade-baba, but she knew him at least, cause Jiraiya was his teacher. Maybe they just didn't want me to get too excited or angry or _something._" He shrugged again. "I justwas surprised." He ran a hand along the edge of the coat. "And happy. I was so happy to find that out."

_I bet, _Sasuke thought privately. _You just lost your best friend it must've been nice to have some sort of happy news. _"So you kept his coat, even after death?" Sasuke couldn't help but tease him, "I swear, Naruto you have more outfits than a girl."

"Now that was just _low, _Sasuke." Naruto growled out. "I don't have that many outfits and it's not like it's an effort and" He grinned suddenly. "I'm just glad that I didn't get stuck in the same clothing for eternity. I like a little variety at times."

"Being that I don't know many ghosts, I can't say if it's the norm or not." Sasuke said dryly and poked at his noodles. He didnt know why he made so many he usually made half this much, if that. _Guess I'll be eating leftovers for the next few days. _He thought absently. "But even your varied outfits arent that varied" He tilted his head at Naruto. "But I never see you in your ANBU uniform. Why is that?"

Naruto frowned a bit at the question. "I never really liked what I was ordered to do when in ANBU." He said shortly. "Even though it was good preparation for becoming the Rokudaimethe Hokage has to do a lot of stuff that's squickish. We were mainly assassins as well as being privy to top secret stuff in the Hokage's offices knew a lot of the secret shit and we were the Hokage's guards." His hands twisted together momentarily. "My last mission as an ANBU was to guard Sasuke to make sure no one harmed him and that he harmed nobody else." This time, Sasuke could read the pain that Naruto had previously hid. "I failed at that task."

Sasuke blinked at him in surprise. "But I thought that." Naruto cut him off, blue eyes hard now as he faced Sasuke. There was that anger again something that mainly appeared when Naruto thought about Sasuke.

"No matter what you thought or heard, I failed to protect my best friend when he needed it the most. I can't forgive myself for that mistake." He gave Sasuke a long, considering look. "So do me a favor and take care of yourself, hmm?" He asked softly. "I don't want to see another friend of mine die when I can't do anything about it."

Food long forgotten, Sasuke could only stare and stutter a 'I'll try my hardest' to Naruto's strange request. _I heard that Sasuke died saving him but I suppose the person that was actually there at the time would know the best or think that he knew the best._ Sasuke's eyes narrowed at Naruto and the way he hunched over slightly, lost in some private memory. _He only thinks that it was his fault_

"What happened?" He asked bluntly. Naruto's eyes widened at the direct question, something that Sasuke had never dared to ask before. He gave a crooked smile. "If you say I'm that other Sasuke.. don't I have a right to know how it happened?" His gaze coolly assessed Naruto's. "Shouldn't I be the one to judge if it was your fault or not?"

Naruto's gaze hardened at the flippant way this Sasuke treated the situation. "You are either him or not him. You can't pick and choose your acceptance of it whenever it suits you. Even if you did fully believe you were Uchiha Sasuke, I still wouldn't tell you. Nobody needs to relive their death." A faint shudder racked Sasuke's body. "I don't like remembering minebut I have no choice. Remember that you do have one."

Sasuke made a face at that, but had to concede at least privately that Naruto had a point. He was asking personal questions of someone who lost someone close to him almost a century ago. Naruto didn't need to tell him anything and he refused to hurt the blond ghost anymore over the matter. He would find out another way.

* * *

He would start first with Sasuke's notebook even though it wouldn't be able to give anything on his death, it could contain something as to what led up to it, how Sasuke felt about Naruto, or any number of things. Pulling it out from its accustomed hiding place and making sure that Naruto was nowhere around to see him reading ithe settled in his bed to try and piece together what was still a growing mystery to him.

_Naruto_

_You've done some amazing things for me you, the person that had every right to never accept me back or forgive me. AndI don't want to lose you. I can't even tell this to your face what, an Uchiha admitting that he needs someone? But you're the one that I came back to, you're the only reason why I didn't give up and just kill myself after Itachi and Orochimaru were dead. Damn it, Narutowhat makes you so special where you can break down all my barriers, jump over those carefully constructed walls? Your presence here is now normal. I can't imagine the estate without your loud voice echoing through the halls. I don't feel the presence of my family's disapproving stares so much. You took that awayyou've replaced it with memories and thoughts and feelings that are more comfortable, more wanted and desired._

_But who am I to take that comfort now? Who am I to deserve it, why should I be allowed to accept the comfort you offer me? Didn't I commit the ultimate act of betrayal? Wasn't I the one who ended the last connection to the Uchiha clan? I killed my brother and tried to kill you. Yetyou do everything you can to try and make me happy as if you re doing whatever you can to keep me here. Do you want me here as badly as I want to keep you here? You should know by now that my leaving wasn't your fault, Naruto. It wasn't anything you did or didn't do_

_We still bicker at each other, we still fight and antagonize each otherwe wouldn't be ourselves if we weren't like that, but sometimes I think that I could tell you anything and you would understand. Do you think the same thing? You're closed off a lot of the time, though. Even around me, you have fake smiles and push away your hurts so that I don't see them. You did that all the time when we were kids, and you do it now. Your shield was of smiles, and mine was impassiveness. But, Naruto sometimes I think it's okay to smile around you nowwhat is there to hurt me?_

_I hope that we'll have come to some type of understanding by the time you read this, _

_Sasuke_

He put down the notebook again, fingers idly tracing the carefully penned letters, ascetically neat even when Sasuke knew he was probably the only one who would read it. He never really counted on Naruto reading the letters, he was sure of it. They were just journal entries, addressed to someone Uchiha Sasuke thought understood and cared for him it was just very sad in a way, to know the outcome of this person, to know that he was going to die, because he couldn't stand to see his only friend lose his dream.

_It wasn't Naruto's fault._ Sasuke thought to himself sourly._ It couldnt have been. Sasuke knew that it was only a matter of time before he died, he had accepted the knowledge of his own death a long time ago. It was only near the end that he regretted it, that he didn't want to leave Naruto alone. _

He was starting to detect a certain flavor from the writing something that Sasuke was trying to overtly say, but never wrote out as if he was afraid of admitting something in writing, even to himself. It was centered around Naruto, and the way he felt about it Sasuke rubbed his head, the ache coming back. He was starting to get his headaches again, ones that started out with sharp pains, but settled to a low, constant ache. Reading the carefully scripted kanji only made it worse, and Sasuke sighed. _A few aspirin and a short nap should take care of it._ He thought decidedly, putting the notebook away in the nightstand next to the bed. _Then I'll head into town and see what else I can pick up._

Sasuke fell back on the bed, mind too tired to really think about what his plan would be if he should question people that knew Naruto, or Sasuke if there was some type of record of his death and what occurred. If it was as violent as he imagined it to be. And he wanted to find out more about how Sasuke and Naruto were friends. That would be something that he would have to ask Naruto himself to see how much it coincided with Sasuke's journal entries. Yawning again, he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Sasuke smirked up at Naruto, who only grinned back, unconcerned at the overconfident look on his face. "So what are you planning now that you've got me pinned?" He murmured, not even making a token struggle out of Naruto's grip. He could see the gleam in the younger boy's eyes as he held the dominant position. It wasn't everyday that it happened, and Sasuke felt that Naruto deserved it every once in awhile. _But Sasuke wasnt going to make a habit of it. _Even though this was their first time togetherthe touches and gestures led up to this momentit was something that had been brewing for a long time. Even when they first kissed

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He smirked, but he betrayed his eagerness with the way his mouth moved down over Sasuke's, soft and hesitant at first, but then growing stronger and more demanding. It was as if he was still unsure over their relationship, over how Sasuke felt over him. Sasuke decided to clear up all of that immediately. He wasn't going to give up his chance at being top for Naruto to fumble around like a virgin girl.

"Get serious about it, dobe." He growled against his lips, removing one hand enough to keep Naruto's head in place. "Or can you not handle being top? I can always take over and teach you what you're supposed to do." Not that he really knew any better. Neither of them had ever been close enough to someone, and reading books certainly wouldn't help in the overall experience. If they weren't careful, they'd hurt each other. He wanted this to be as good as he could possibly make it. That didn't mean he couldn't harass Naruto about his lack of finesse.

His eyes challenged Naruto, who only growled and pinned him down again, his mouth renewing his attack on Sasuke's. Sasuke gave an appreciative groan as he opened his mouth, Naruto's tongue caressing his slowly. At least they were more experienced at the kissingtheir fumbling starts at kissing each other had progressed into something more, something that Sasuke was addicted to and another part of Naruto he couldn't bear to let go of.

It was slow torture, and Sasuke closed his eyes, just letting Naruto move over him, mouth caressing his. His lips moved over his face, trailing over his cheekbones and down the line of his jaw, sharp teeth nipping slightly, tongue caressing the marks after. Arching his neck, Sasuke moved into the nips and licks, suddenly enjoying himself that much more. Especially when a hand let go of his wrist to ghost down his side, fingertips brushing over his ribs, just short of ticklish.

The light, tentative touches were driving him crazyhe never expected Naruto to be so careful of his movements, as if he was trying to learn every part of Sasuke by feel alone. That thought abruptly shut itself off as nails trailed across his chest and quick fingers pinched one of his nipples, causing him to hiss. Sasuke reminded himself sharply that Naruto never had anyonethe fact that they allowed themselves to reach this level was astoundinga few years ago, the thought of someone _hugging_ them would have been a foreign concept. But he and Naruto always had been fast learners

Naruto's lips moved back up to his, and Sasuke could feel the pleased smile curling against his lips. "Did you like that?" Naruto murmured. "Figures you'd be the type to enjoy pain." His voice was teasing, because out of anyone in Konoha, he probably knew Sasuke the best, and the same could be said for how well Sasuke knew Naruto.

"You would know." Sasuke shot back, eyes dark as both of his hands were released to grip onto Naruto, holding his face firmly in his hands. "Now shut up and get on with it, Naruto. Or else I won't think you're man enough." It was a well placed blow, and he knew it hit the mark when Naruto arched up slightly, his lower half pressing against Sasuke's, a dark gleam in his eyes.

"If I wasn't _man_ enough, you wouldn't want me." Naruto quipped. "We all knew that you never dated any of the girls for a reason." Even in the middle of intimate caresses, they still found a way to bicker with each other, but Naruto did 'shut up' after that, his kisses becoming increasingly more aggressive as Sasuke sought to 'encourage' him, one hand ghosting over his erection, but nothing more than that. Naruto's response was a gasp and moving his hips into Sasuke's hand. Sasuke only smirked and moved his hand away, mirroring the path the Naruto's hand trailed earlier.

"Not yet." He murmured. "You should treat me before I reward you." His eyes gleamed up at Naruto, who only gave him a pleading stare for a second before his fox-grin widened. Without warning, his hand squeezed Sasuke's length, before moving away just as quickly. Sasuke gave an outraged gasp. "What the fuck?" His voice came out more strangled than he intended, losing the demanding tone. "Now that's playing dirty, Naruto."

Naruto only smirked at him. "Says who?" He purred, mouth hovering over Sasuke's chest. "I thought a ninja would have to be prepared for every type of technique that could be used against him." His smile only widened. "And be prepared to counter it."

Sasuke's only reply was a muttered curse and yanking Naruto's hips against his own. He didnt give a damn that Naruto was on 'top' at this point,. The idiot made it a challenge and he would be damned if he'd back down from it.

* * *

He wasn't sure when their clothes fell to the floor, or when Naruto nearly spilled the bottle of lubricant all over them but he remembered clearly the point of Naruto's fingers moving inside of him and the careful, tender way he stretched him. The feel of his lips and his soothing voicethe way he positioned himself over Sasuke. Tender fingers soothing away the bruises from their scuffle to be 'top.' The slow burn of Naruto being a part of him, of realizing that he gave that position of trust to Naruto a long time ago.

The sweat that formed on Naruto's face, droplets hitting Sasuke's as they moved together. Naruto's hand closing over his erection and moving it in the same rhythm their bodies had already found. Of warm lips closing over his and muffling his cries, of Naruto's body shuddering over his as his own tightened in response. He knew of the warmth afterward, of Naruto holding him tight a protective embrace that he hadn't allowed himself for a long time, for fear of losing it.

* * *

When Sasuke opened his eyes, he automatically reached for Naruto, and was puzzled when he didn't feel the presence of his body. It wasnt like Naruto had a missionhe would have woken Sasuke up at the least

As his mind cleared from the dream, he realized exactly what it was about and all that it implicated. _Be careful what you wish for._ He reminded himself dryly. _You may just receive it. _He wanted to know what type of relationship they had especially near the end, he wanted to know what Sasuke had alluded to in his journal but he never expected a dream like that one. A faint blush tinted his cheeks as he remembered that, like before, he was an active participant in the dream it wasn't as if he was 'watching', but as if he was really there.

At least the dream was more pleasant than the last vivid dream he had of Sasuke's past the one with his psycho older brother and the death of the Uchiha clan. And as he no longer questioned that dream, he didn't question this one either. Only he wasn't going to be dumb enough to ask Naruto to confirm it. That would be going a bit too far some things were meant to be private, even if he did seem to have a direct connection into how the Sasuke of the past was. Even if he did experience it and Naruto thought he was the past Sasuke. Biting his lip, he realized more now why Naruto was so close-mouthed about so many things, why it hurt him so bad to have Sasuke blow off everything entirely, including the possibility that he was that past Sasuke. _Even if I'm not, I feel kind of bad now_

It was like asking Naruto how he really died what the details of it were, or how he felt when Sasuke died. He winced at that train of thought. He came perilously close to doing that Sasuke apparently wasn't just a childhood friend he was something more and just as precious to Naruto. _And I have a feeling it was just a short time they had together_There had been a sense of sadness from Sasuke during their tryst, a feeling of inevitability, a shadow of foreboding tainting the happiness for a brief moment.

He continued to lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling as his mind processed through the dream again. It was fading quickly now it just left a feeling of sadness of what was lost of what could never be regained again. _At least Sasuke was happy at the end._ He reassured himself. _At least the both of them found something in each other_Sasuke had yet to experience that depth of emotion with anyone he almost envied the two for what they had, but then berated himself for the thought.

How was he going to look at Naruto again, with even the fading memory of the dream?


End file.
